FOXBORO — After trading edge rusher Joshua Uche last week, the Patriots were expected to finalize another deal ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline.
They did not.
The Pats stood pat, while other front offices around the league swapped players and picks. Coach Jerod Mayo was asked about the team’s inactivity on Wednesday.
“The one thing about the trade deadline, I talked about this on Monday, at least in the NFL, everyone wants to build it up like it’s baseball or baseball. It’s not,” Mayo said. “We do our research on everything. And I would say (executive vice president of player personnel) Eliot (Wolf) and his staff contacted multiple teams and multiple teams contacted us like every other team around the league.”
So why didn’t the Patriots strike a deal?
“I’m not sure,” Mayo said. “I mean, look, for us, it’s about value. It’s about thinking about the present and also trying to get better in the future.”
One position to monitor is wide receiver, where the Patriots are carrying seven players, an atypically high number. Veteran K.J. Osborn indicated last month his representation had healthy dialogue with the Patriots about a possible trade. The Pats also reportedly took calls on third-year speedster Tyquan Thornton, who has just four catches this year.
Osborn and Thornton were healthy scratches for last Sunday’s game at Tennessee and could be candidates for release moving forward.
“These guys are on the roster right now. We’re always, again, looking to get better and that may be addition through subtraction,” Mayo said Wednesday of the receivers. “I don’t know what group it is, but we’re always looking to get better.”
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