Potential Patriots Trade Candidate Reportedly ‘Unlikely’ To Be Dealt

Despite speculation suggesting the contrary, it appears Nelson Agholor’s days with the Patriots are not numbered.

Agholor, who signed a two-year, $26 million deal with New England last year, was widely floated as a potential preseason trade candidate for multiple reasons. The Patriots could free up significant cap space by trading Agholor, who carries a $9 million base salary this season, and New England’s wide receiver depth chart, while not littered with stars, is quite crowded.

But as The Athletic’s Jeff Howe explained in a column published Tuesday, Agholor is likely to be on the Patriots’ roster by the time Week 1 rolls around.

From Howe:

There’s been speculation wide receiver Nelson Agholor could be traded. The logistics make that unlikely, according to sources familiar with the situation. Would the Patriots welcome nearly $10 million in cap relief? Sure. Don’t forget, they moved longtime right guard Shaq Mason for less. And might Agholor be an intriguing talent for an acquiring team? Definitely.

But there aren’t many teams that want to pick up a $10 million cap hit for a No. 2-3 receiver. The Patriots could facilitate a trade by eating some of the money, but then they’d be paying one of their two best receivers to play elsewhere in return for maybe a Saturday draft pick.

Don’t put anything past the Patriots as far as trades are concerned, but moving Agholor doesn’t make a lot of sense at the moment.

Should New England move forward with Agholor as expected, he’ll be a part of a wide receiver group in Foxboro that most likely feature Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, newcomer DeVante Parker and rookie Tyquan Thornton.