Patriots Reportedly Didn’t Inquire About This Star In Chargers Call

The Patriots reportedly “checked in” with the Los Angeles Chargers this week on players who could have been cut before the new league year began, but a star wide receiver seemingly wasn’t a topic of conversation.

It was speculated that New England would make efforts to upgrade their pass-catching corps. It signed new deals with Kendrick Bourne and Hunter Henry, and it added Austin Hooper. But the Patriots missed out on Calvin Ridley, who took a better offer with the Tennessee Titans.

New England also seemingly missed out on Keenan Allen when the Chicago Bears on Thursday reportedly acquired the Los Angeles wide receiver for a fourth-round pick. But the Patriots might not have been interested in the Pro Bowl wideout anyway.

The Patriots didn’t ask the Chargers about Allen in their call with Los Angeles and instead focused on other players, according to The Athletic’s Chad Graff on Friday. It’s unknown who these “other players” were, but the Chargers released Mike Williams to free up cap space and chose to retain Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa, who could have been cut to free up even more money.

It can only be left up to speculation if there were players outside of the cut candidates that New England might have been interested in, but the Patriots’ reported lack of interest in Allen could signal where head coach Jerod Mayo and de facto general manager and director of scouting Eliot Wolf want to go this offseason.