Six Patriots Thoughts After Team’s Quiet NFL Trade Deadline

The 2022 NFL trade deadline was historically eventful. A record 10 trades were executed on deadline day alone, including ones involving Chase Claypool, Bradley Chubb, T.J. Hockenson and Calvin Ridley.

But for the New England Patriots, it was just a quiet, standard Tuesday.

For the second consecutive year, the Patriots did not acquire any players in deadline deals, and all of their potential internal trade candidates (Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, Isaiah Wynn, Damien Harris, etc.) stayed put. The most eventful moment for New England fans came when Trent Brown sent an eyeball emoji-inducing tweet about a “next chapter” two hours before the deadline, only to follow it up with: “lol bad timing on my part.”

The Patriots’ roster still is subject to change as Bill Belichick and his staff scour the waiver wire and late-season free agency for potential pickups. But those hoping for some sort of season-shaping move were left disappointed.

Here are six thoughts on New England’s lack of deadline activity and notable trades elsewhere in the NFL:

1. Sitting at 4-4 and just half a game back of a playoff spot in the AFC, the Patriots opted to neither buy nor sell at this year’s deadline. They lacked the salary cap space (just over $2 million entering Tuesday) to make a major move without shifting money around, and they evidently weren’t swayed by any of the offers for players like Wynn, Agholor and Bourne.

2. Wynn has not been good this season, and trading him would have wiped the remainder of his $10.4 million off the Patriots’ salary cap. But New England is shallow enough at tackle as is. In keeping Wynn, they prioritized depth over financial flexibility, as moving him would have left Yodny Cajuste as their only reserve tackle on the 53-man roster or practice squad.

It’ll be very interesting to see how the Patriots structure their offensive line in the coming weeks. Wynn’s struggles at right tackle have been well-documented, but Marcus Cannon, their starter there for the last two games, also had a rough game Sunday against the New York Jets. Which of them will start this week against the Indianapolis Colts?

Wynn also took practice reps at guard last week and saw action there in the second half of the Jets game after rookie Cole Strange seemingly was benched. Would the Patriots consider bumping him inside and shifting Mike Onwenu from right guard to right tackle? Onwenu was great in that spot as a rookie in 2020.

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3. It’s unclear whether DeVante Parker’s injury influenced the decisions not to trade Agholor or Bourne. He suffered a knee injury on the first play of Sunday’s game, but reportedly is not expected to miss more than a game at most.

The Patriots are moving forward with all five of their receivers, and Agholor seems to be at the bottom of that hierarchy. He played just 19 snaps against New York while Jakobi Meyers, rookie Tyquan Thornton and Bourne all were over 50. Agholor, who’s had problems with ball security this season, also logged just three snaps the previous week in his return from a hamstring injury.

Thornton will be a player to watch here, as he seems to have leapfrogged both Agholor and Bourne. He’s seen a ton of playing time since coming off injured reserve in Week 5 (partially due to injuries to other Patriots wideouts) but hasn’t been especially productive outside of his two Week 6 touchdowns against Cleveland. His numbers over his first four games: 170 snaps, 15 targets, eight catches, 76 yards, one touchdown; three carries, 16 yards, one score.

4. The AFC East rival Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills both got better, with the former trading a first-round pick and more for Denver Broncos edge rusher Chubb and the latter acquiring third-down back Nyheim Hines from Indianapolis.

Chubb, a Pro Bowler in 2020, will bolster a Dolphins pass rush that has managed just 15 sacks this season (tied for 21st in the NFL). Hines is more complementary piece than star, but he’ll give Buffalo’s loaded offense a potent pass-catching threat out of the backfield. The ex-Colt ranks fifth among running backs in receptions and third in receiving yards over the last three seasons.

The Patriots will face the Bills twice and the Dolphins once (at home in Week 18) over the final 10 weeks of the season.

The Jets, meanwhile, sold off a defensive contributor, trading linebacker Jacob Martin to Denver to help replace Chubb. New York lost to the Patriots 22-17 on Sunday and will visit Gillette Stadium in three weeks for a rematch.

5. The Patriots’ Thanksgiving matchup also got a bit tougher. The Minnesota Vikings, who sit atop the NFC North at 6-1, swung a trade for Hockenson to replace the injured tight end Irv Smith Jr. Hockenson adds another weapon to a Minnesota offense that already featured Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and Dalvin Cook around polarizing quarterback Kirk Cousins. New England successfully stifled Hockenson in Week 5, however, holding him to one catch on four targets for 6 yards in a shutout win over Detroit.

6. New England’s defense will have no excuse for a poor performance this Sunday. The Colts are coming to town this week, and over the last eight days, they’ve benched veteran quarterback Matt Ryan for second-year pro Sam Ehlinger, fired offensive coordinator Marcus Brady and now traded Hines, their No. 2 back behind Jonathan Taylor. Indy ranks near the bottom of the NFL in most offensive categories, including 30th in points per game and 32nd in Football Outsiders’ DVOA.