NFL Clearly Wasn’t Interested In Patriots’ Leftovers At Deadline

The Patriots didn’t pull the trigger on Tuesday.

New England parted ways with linebacker Joshua Uche well before the trade deadline, but ultimately fell short of making any more moves before the clock struck 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

K.J. Osborn? He’s sticking around. Tyquan Thornton and Kendrick Bourne? Yep. Jonathan Jones, Davon Godchaux, Keion White, Kyle Dugger and Christian Gonzalez? Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf held on to them, which drew mixed reviews from the public.

Keagan Stiefel joined NESN’s “Foxboro Rush” podcast on Wednesday to discuss the lack of movement with co-hosts George Balekji and Travis Thomas, and came to an obvious conclusion.

“I think, with the majority of the guys they might have floated at the deadline, teams were saying, ‘Tyquan Thornton? What the hell do you want me to do with Tyquan Thornton,'” Stiefel said.

The Patriots had been involved in multiple rumors prior to the deadline, with a strong disconnect seeming to stem from their lack of desire to move premium talent. The Los Angeles Chargers were reported to be interested in wide receiver K.J. Osborn, who was very much on the block; however, this is where the disconnect lies.

“I’m inclined to believe (the reports) because these guys report stuff all the time that turn out to be true,” Stiefel said. “I’m not going to call them on it because of what I think about the player — obviously teams value these guys differently than we do. So, when you do see a report that the LA Chargers are interested in K.J. Osborn, get rid of him and get what you can.

“That’s all I’m asking for. I’m not asking you to get a fourth-round pick for Daniel Ekuale… If there’s a report that there was an opportunity to go out there and actually do something, and you didn’t do it, you have to take flak for that.”

You can listen to the latest episode of “Foxboro Rush” on YouTube and Spotify.