Patriots Should Take MLB-Style Approach To Trade Deadline

It was bound to happen after experiencing a 20-year run of dominance, but the New England Patriots have essentially hit rock bottom.

The unfortunate reality? It doesn’t look like they’re done digging.

New England is going nowhere fast, sitting with a 1-5 record following their Week 6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. The likelihood of a bounce back doesn’t seem strong, either, as there have been only three teams in NFL history to make the postseason after starting so poorly. Bill Belichick’s decision making becomes easier to question by the week, injuries are piling up like student loan notices, the offensive line is a mess and we have to wonder every week whether or not Mac Jones is going to keep his job.

The Patriots are a mess, which is why it’s time for them to start thinking about their approach to the 2023 NFL trade deadline on Oct. 31.

If we had our way, they’d draw some inspiration from the New York Mets.

Yes, we’re serious.

It wouldn’t make sense for the Patriots to completely blow things up, but they certainly should look for a way to maximize the assets they do have ahead of Halloween. That’s kind of what the Mets did. New York got out from underneath some bad contracts (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer), capitalized on expiring deals (David Robertson, Mark Canha, Tommy Pham) and bought on some prospects worth giving a second look at.

New England could do something similar.

The Patriots have 23 expiring contracts on the books with Josh Uche, Mike Onwenu, Kyle Dugger, Kendrick Bourne and Hunter Henry all looking like trade candidates as we approach the end of the month. They’ve also got some guys that are under contract past this offseason but could net solid returns, like Trent Brown or Jabrill Peppers.

Why wouldn’t Belichick look to flip some of those guys for future assets?

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Uche and Bourne could be options for a contending team like the Kansas City Chiefs, who have draft capital and controllable talent (Justyn Ross?) to spare in a trade. The Miami Dolphins could use an upgrade at tight end, so why not attempt to lure Mike Gesicki or Henry away from New England for a mid-round pick?

There are roughly 1,000 ways for the Patriots to go, but the most likely approach we’ll see is a measured one. New England will make moves, but they’ll likely come from their abundance of expiring contracts who clearly aren’t helping them win games.