The trade deadline falls on Nov. 5.
The NFL trade deadline is officially one week away, however business has already begun for the New England Patriots.
Earlier this week, New England sent pass rusher Joshua Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs in return for draft capital. The deal indicates how the two-win Patriots are open for business in terms of selling off veteran plays.
However, reports also indicate the team is monitoring the trade market in hopes of acquiring talent at certain positions.
“I would say from our perspective as an organization, we’re always trying to get better, whether that’s to bring players in, or addition through subtraction,” head coach Jerod Mayo said Wednesday. “We have to both look in the short term and also in the long term.
Beyond Uche, wide receivers K.J. Osborn, Tyquan Thornton, and Kendrick Bourne have all found their names in trade rumors of late. Osborn indicated last week that he would not mind a trade due his lack of playing time while teams have reportedly called on Thornton.
According to the NFL Network, a team making a move for Bourne “would take a large deal to pry him from New England.”
Elsewhere on the roster, reports have included defensive players Jonathan Jones and Davon Godchaux as potential trade targets. For a young team, New England will also have to account for the repercussions of potentially moving off of veteran leaders.
“To us, we’re in the business of bringing in good players and keeping our good players,” Mayo said. “I think you bring up an interesting point as far as, like, the culture guys. I do think that’s important. I also would say I think it’s important with the coaches as well, to bring in guys that really believe in the culture and where we’re trying to go. Definitely, we take those things into consideration.”
The trade deadline will mark the first for Mayo as a head coach and Eliot Wolf as the head of New England’s personnel department. With plenty of resources available to them in terms of draft capital and cap space, the duo has a chance to make a serious mark on the roster — whether they take the path of buying and/or selling.
“We speak every day. I try to give him part of our game plan on the football side, and we talk about the roster every single day,” Mayo said of his conversations with Wolf. “We look at the players, his staff looks at the players, the coaches look at their individual position, and we make a decision that’s best for the organization.”