Untouchables? Patriots Don’t Have Many Ahead Of NFL Trade Deadline

This is a lost Patriots season when it comes to being competitive, so it’s in their best interest to be active sellers in the trade market.

New England’s schedule does get easier after next week’s deadline, but the chances of it being a Super Bowl contender are the same as a third-party candidate winning the 2024 United States presidential election.

The focus this season should be to continue Drake Maye’s development and see what you have with your rookies and younger players. Jerod Mayo and his coaching staff should build the foundation this season toward competing for the playoffs next season.

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New England got the ball rolling when it dealt Joshua Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2026 sixth-round pick. While fans complained about the return, trading Uche was the right move. The 26-year-old is a situational pass-rusher with no real future in One Patriot Place.

There shouldn’t be any hesitation from executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and his staff to trade away as many of the team’s players as possible. The jury is still out on the 2024 rookie class, but it’s clear the Patriots needed more resources to fill out the most important spots on the roster, especially along the offensive line. It’s more worthwhile to gather more draft assets to either fill out the rest of your roster or to use as part of a trade package for a top player.

Of course, you can’t trade everyone. There still needs to be core pieces to build around. The problem for the Patriots is they don’t have many of those kinds of players. Maye obviously leads the list of untouchable players, and Mike Onwenu and Ben Brown look like solid offensive linemen to build around. The rest of the season is a prove-it campaign for Ja’Lynn Polk and parting away with guys like Kendrick Bourne or K.J. Osborn could help open up more playing time and leave one less complainer to worry about.

Christian Gonzalez and Keion White lead the way for untouchable defensive players. But after that, you can make the case for any other player to get traded. Davon Godchaux was identified by The Athletic as someone to “keep an eye on,” and New England has multiple defensive players who fit the Uche mold of depth pieces for a contending team.

It’s a short list of players the Patriots need to be around for next season, and while it seems counterintuitive to trade away your few good players, it’s the correct long-term move, especially since Maye’s flashed the talent to be a legit franchise quarterback.