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The New England Patriots are reportedly close to reeling in one of the best free agents on the market.

The Boston Globe reports that Brandon Lloyd, a free agent receiver who has been linked to New England for weeks, is close to coming to a contract agreement with the Patriots.

Lloyd has a great relationship with new Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. His best NFL season, by far, came playing for McDaniels in Denver in 2010, when he caught 77 passes for 1,448 yards and 11 touchdowns. Lloyd has made clear that he’d love to play for McDaniels again, even hinting that he’d take less money to play for the Patriots.

With a 15.4 yards-per-catch average in his career, Lloyd would provide the Patriots’ passing game with the deep threat they’d like to add — the deep threat they thought, wrongly, that Chad Ochocinco might be last season. If the Patriots can get this deal from “close” to “done,” one of the best passing games in the NFL will be even better.