The New England Patriots on Tuesday afternoon played the role of Squidward in the Squidward-staring-out-the-window meme.
You've almost certainly seen it.
Two AFC East rivals traded for impactful wide receivers as the New York Jets acquired Davante Adams and Buffalo Bills added Amari Cooper. Adams departs Las Vegas for New York for a conditional third-round pick while Cooper goes from Cleveland to Buffalo for a third-rounder and late-round pick swap.
The Patriots could use a high-end receiver like Adams or Cooper. After all, New England benched two of their Week 1 starting receivers (Tyquan Thornton, K.J. Osborn) against the Houston Texans on Sunday. Second-round wideout Ja'Lynn Polk has been plagued by inconsistencies and fourth-round rookie Javon Baker was a healthy scratch three times in six games, too.
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Patriots fans, like Squidward, have to be experiencing FOMO. Many took to social media Tuesday evening and indicated exactly that.
To be fair, there were others who said neither the 31-year-old Adams nor 30-year-old Cooper were ever going to come to New England. Adams, specifically, never made sense for the Patriots in large part because it felt inevitable he would reunite with Aaron Rodgers in New York.
And other Patriots fans believed neither trade would have been a wise one for New England. That's debatable, though. Cooper, given he's an impending free agent and cheap in 2024, made more sense. Cooper, however, will catch passes from Josh Allen instead of Drake Maye.
Perhaps the Patriots will make a different move ahead of the NFL trade deadline, one that makes sense both for the short-term and long-term. It's possible. But more likely than not Patriots fans will be staring out the window all while built-to-win teams make moves.
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Featured image via Ken Blaze/Imagn Images
