Beantown Rundown: Patriots lack of trade deadline activity is a missed opportunity
The 2024 NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and it was a pretty quiet day for the New England Patriots . While they were involved in a handful of rumors, the only player they ended up dealing was pass rusher Josh Uche , who went to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick.
Considering how the Patriots have just a 2-7 record and have generally been one of the worst teams in the league this season, they were widely expected to sell off some of their spare parts for some extra draft capital. Aside from the Uche trade, though, that didn't happen, as the team had conversations on several players, but ultimately ended up standing pat .
Trade deadlines (the NFL's in particular) are often filled with a lot more rumors than actual action, and that was certainly the case for New England here. Given the current situation with their roster and their record, though, the Pats missed an opportunity to accrue some more draft capital for players who don't really have a future with the team.
Patriots should have been more aggressive sellers the trade deadline
The Patriots currently find themselves in the beginning stages of a rebuild. They believe they have their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye after they selected him with the third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, but they don't have much else around him. Guys like Christian Gonzalez and Kyle Dugger are building blocks for the future on defense, but there's a lot of work to be done to this roster.
While the product on the field is lackluster, the reality of the situation is that this is a necessary rebuild for New England. They need to string together some solid drafts to build their talent back up, and that started with the addition of Maye. Some of the other picks in that draft (we're looking at you, Ja'Lynn Polk) don't look nearly as good as Maye early on, but the Pats need to be given time to build themselves back up.
The easiest way to do that is through the draft, which is why adding even lower level Day 3 picks is so important. Trading away Uche was a good piece of business. He was on a cheap one-year deal he signed over the offseason, which resulted in several teams being interested in him after his role with the team gradually decreased. Uche almost certainly wasn't going to re-sign with the team again over the offseason, so getting something in return for him made a lot of sense.
The problem, as we've already noted, is that New England stopped making moves after that, despite having several players teams were interested in. Wide receivers K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton were prime trade candidates, and veterans such as Jonathan Jones, Davon Godchaux, and even Kendrick Bourne should have been available for the right price.
Not trading away Godchaux and Bourne is fine. They are both productive veterans who signed new deals with the team over the offseason, so keeping them around in the locker room will be a big help. There was no sense in the Patriots front office trading them away if they didn't get a trade package they didn't like, so that part of the equation isn't worth losing sleep over.
Holding on to Osborn, Thornton, and even Jones makes a lot less sense. On offense, Osborn and Thornton aren't a part of the offense, with Bourne, Demario Douglas, and Kayshon Boutte leading the way on the depth chart. Osborn is only on a one-year deal, and had made it clear he'd be open to being traded. New England realistically should have taken anything they could have gotten for him.
Thornton is a 2022 second-round pick who simply has not panned out with New England, and a change of scenery would have benefited him. He has value as a speedster who can make big plays when he's utilized properly, so a playoff contending team in need of some juice on offense could have swung a deal for him. There wasn't as much of an incentive to move him as Osborn, but still, he's contributing virtually nothing to this team.
Jones is a veteran cornerback who is still a crucial part of New England's defense, but he's in the final year of his contract, and he could opt to head for greener pastures this upcoming offseason. Similar to Bourne and Godchaux, holding onto him isn't the worst thing, but if he leaves for nothing in free agency, that will be a tough pill to swallow.
These aren't groundbreaking moves that would have drastically changed the Patriots future, but making moves around the margins is crucial when you have two wins through nine games. New England has to do everything right in order to properly execute their rebuild, and they missed a prime opportunity to make their life even a little bit easier by holding onto some prime trade candidates at the deadline.
