Yes, Patriots Absolutely Should Sell Ahead Of NFL Trade Deadline

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It was Bill Parcells who famously declared that a team is whatever its record says it is.

Well, by that criteria, the 2023 Patriots will enter November as the single worst team in the AFC.

Dead last. Sixteenth of 16. Cellar-dwellers. Bottom-feeders.

New England lost 31-17 to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday to tumble to 2-6 on the season. The Denver Broncos’ upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs a few hours later vaulted them past the Patriots in the standings. New England is the only team in the conference with fewer than three wins.

If the season ended Monday, the Patriots would pick fifth overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, behind only the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears (via Carolina), Chicago again and the New York Giants. Eight weeks in, New England is closer to landing the No. 1 pick than it is to making the postseason. Let that sink in for a moment.

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Sunday’s game could have changed this trajectory. Had the Patriots been able to stun Miami the way it did Buffalo the previous week, they would’ve needed to be respected as legit dark-horse playoff contenders in the AFC.

But even with a favorable schedule awaiting over the next 1 1/2 months, this latest loss vaporized any realistic playoff hopes Bill Belichick’s club might have harbored. The New York Times’ playoff predictor put its odds of qualifying at a measly 2% as of Sunday night.

The Patriots are staring at a lost season — a thoroughly disappointing one, at that, given the preseason optimism that surrounded this team — and should proceed as such. That starts this week with Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, ahead of which New England should sell off any players who are not part of their future plans and would be of value to contending clubs.

At the top of that list is linebacker Josh Uche, who reportedly has garnered trade interest. The 2020 second-round pick in the final year of his rookie contract and never will have more than a part-time role for the Patriots, who are too wary of his edge-setting abilities to play him on early downs. There’d surely be a team willing to pay a mid-round draft pick for a half-season or more of his pass-rushing prowess, though, as long as the foot/knee issues that kept him out of the last two games don’t spook potential suitors.

Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne is another asset on a cheap, expiring contract who’d easily boost the offense of a contending team, though his value will hinge on the severity of the knee injury that knocked him out of Sunday’s loss.

Other possible trade chips include safety Kyle Dugger, tight ends Mike Gesicki and Hunter Henry, offensive tackle Trent Brown and tackle/guard Mike Onwenu, though moving either of the Brown or Ownenu would fully decimate an already-leaky O-line. The compensatory draft pick formula typically would be a consideration in such talks, but with the Patriots set to have more than $90 million in salary cap space this offseason, their signings likely will offset any free agent departures and prevent them from receiving any comp picks of value.

Veteran defensive backs Jalen Mills and Adrian Phillips should be offered, as well, though it’s unlikely either has much trade value. The same goes for wideouts JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker, but the Patriots should give either of them away for free in the unlikely event that a team is willing to take on one of their bloated contracts.

Defensive tackle Christian Barmore’s name also was floated in at least one reputable trade rumor. But he’s played so well over the last three weeks — while still having another year on his contract — that he looks more like a player to build around rather than one to flip for draft capital. And honestly, there aren’t many of those on this roster.

Hell, if a team like the Minnesota Vikings, who lost quarterback Kirk Cousins on Sunday to what was believed to be a season-ending Achilles injury, comes calling about Mac Jones, the Patriots should listen to that, too.

Jones wasn’t awful against Miami and has been somewhere between decent and actually good in the majority of his games this season, but he continues to make the same unacceptable mistakes that lead to back-breaking turnovers. The latest: his momentum-shifting interception to Jalen Ramsey late in the first half that killed one of the Patriots’ most promising drives.

Receiving, say, a third-round pick for Jones, rolling with Will Grier or Bailey Zappe for the next few months and then starting anew behind center wouldn’t be the worst choice for a franchise’s closing in on a half-decade of sustained mediocrity.

There’s an all-important variable at play here, however, and that’s Belichick’s job security.

The Patriots head coach has final say on all roster decisions — the only such arrangement in the NFL. Is he going to be willing to intentionally make that roster worse if he’s not positive he’ll remain employed beyond this season? Will he try to set the Patriots up for future success when he might not be part of said future?

Or will he do all he can to score another handful of wins and inch his way closer to Don Shula’s all-time record, even if it sets back his team’s return to true relevance?