Receiver help is on the way for the New England Patriots.
Shortly before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, the Patriots acquired wide receiver Isaiah Ford from the Miami Dolphins, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
New England sent a conditional 2022 sixth-round draft pick to Miami in return, per the NFL transaction wire.
The 24-year-old Ford is in his fourth NFL season. A 2017 seventh-round draft pick who got his start on the practice squad, he appeared in a total of 16 games for the Dolphins, catching 41 passes for 428 yards. He played in each of Miami’s first seven games this season, posting an 18-184-0 line.
Ford had one of the most productive games of his career last December in the Dolphins’ upset win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. He finished with a career-high-tying seven passes on nine targets for 54 yards and added an 11-yard carry off an aborted reverse pass.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 194 pounds, Ford has played 207 of his 225 snaps this season in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus, but has played outside in the past. He’ll add depth to a Patriots receiving corps that was without Julian Edelman (knee) and N’Keal Harry (concussion) this past weekend.
Edelman, who was placed on injured reserve, will miss at least the next two games as he recovers from a knee procedure. It’s unclear when Harry will be cleared to return.
Dolphins coach Brian Flores — a former longtime Patriots assistant — last week called Ford a “smart” player who “knows multiple positions.”
“He’s where he’s supposed to be really a majority of the time,” Flores said, via the Dolphins’ official website. “He’s dependable, he’s accountable, and he’s gotten open and made some plays in some critical situations.”
Ford joins a wideout room that features Harry, Edelman, Damiere Byrd, Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski and practice squadders Isaiah Zuber, Kristian Wilkerson and Mason Kinsey. Meyers has been the Patriots’ No. 1 option of late, catching 10 passes on 16 targets for 118 yards in two games since Harry’s injury.
The 2-5 Patriots are preparing to visit the 0-8 New York Jets on “Monday Night Football.”
