The New England Patriots are not the favorites to land A.J. Green, should the wide receiver be on the move before the trade deadline.
New England certainly could use a bit of help at wide receiver as Josh Gordon and Julian Edelman have been banged up, exposing the team’s depth at the position now that Antonio Brown is out of the picture. The Patriots reportedly are interested in a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals for Green or tight end Tyler Eifert.
The Bengals have remained adamant that they are not shopping Green, but statements like that have not stopped front offices from moving players in the past (see Odell Beckham Jr., Jalen Ramsey). Chris Simms doesn’t think Green should go to the Patriots, and oddsmakers agree.
SportsLine Oddsmakers listed three teams ahead of the Patriots in the Green sweepstakes, with the New Orleans Saints topping the list at +200. The Patriots rang in fourth at +400, with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers ahead of them in the top three.
Bringing in Green has it’s own monetary difficulties given the Patriots cap space situation, but landing the seven-time Pro-Bowler would be “the ultimate Bill Belichick move” as NBC Sports’ Mike Florio put it. The 31-year-old, whose return from an ankle injury appears to be imminent, is an impending free agent, which means New England would obtain a compensatory 2020 draft pick if it was unable to re-sign Green after trading for him.
