Pats Considered Releasing Mack Hollins?

Now in the last season of a two-year, $8.4MM contract, Hollins had been in line to collect $300K for 30 catches, another $300K for 40 and $400K for 50. However, the reception numbers have increased to 47 ($300K), 50 ($300K) and 55 ($400K), according to Michael Ginnitti of Spotrac.

Hollins, a ninth-year veteran, has only exceeded 47 catches once. He hauled in 57 grabs with Las Vegas in 2022, when current Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was the Raiders’ head coach.

Hollins reunited with McDaniels last season and racked up 46 receptions, which explains why the Patriots chose 47 as the lowest cutoff for incentives. Although Hollins led Patriots wideouts in snaps and finished fourth in yards (550) during their AFC-winning campaign, they might not have kept him if he didn’t agree to a more team-friendly arrangement. Hollins suggested to Kyed he was a potential release candidate.

“That’s kind of how it works. That’s the risk that you run. It’s like, ‘Hey, you could take this offer, or we could potentially cut you.’ They’re not saying, like — that’s the business,” Hollins told Kyed. “So, it could go either way. Like, I’m happy to be here. My goal is to go hit all those incentives. It doesn’t matter whatever you put them at. I’m gonna go try to hit them, and it’ll be water under the bridge.”

Releasing Hollins would have saved the Patriots $3.8MM in cap space at the cost of $1.15MM in dead money, but fellow receiver Kayshon Boutte ended up on the chopping block instead. The Patriots traded Boutte to the Texans in late August, leaving them with Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism behind prized offseason pickups A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs.

New England appeared to be in good shape at receiver entering the season, but the group is now a question mark as the club heads into a Week 2 meeting with Pittsburgh. Brown will likely miss six weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain in a 13-10 loss to the Seahawks in the regular-season opener. Doubs is now the Pats’ No. 1 wideout, but his debut in their uniform could not have gone worse. After signing a four-year, $68MM contract in free agency, the former Packer went catch-less on three targets in Week 1. Doubs also had a crucial fourth-quarter drop on a second-and-14 play that would have gone for 20-plus yards.

On a team that went into its first game with a healthy Brown and Doubs, Hollins unexpectedly ended up as the Pats’ most productive receiver. He caught four passes for a team-high 51 yards. If the 33-year-old Hollins keeps up that pace, which could be more realistic in Brown’s absence, he will have no problem maxing out his incentives.