Like every other NFL team, the Patriots must trim their roster to 53 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m.
More than 1,000 players will be released in the coming days, and a few more should be traded. The Patriots have swung cutdown-day trades in the past, acquiring ex-Chiefs offensive tackle Yasir Durant two years ago for a seventh-round pick. Considering their O-line struggles this preseason, another deal could soon be in the works.
On that note, here are four trades to boost the Patriots’ current roster, including a blockbuster that would shake the league at large.
Patriots acquire: Falcons RB/WR Cordarrelle Patterson
Patriots trade: RB Kevin Harris, 2024 seventh-round pick
Remember him?
Patterson left New England after winning a Super Bowl in his only season with the Patriots in 2018. Back then, the Pats became the first team to deploy Patterson at running back for entire games, beating Buffalo and Green Bay with him serving as an emergency starter. Nowadays, the Patriots are again running low on proven running backs and receiving talent.
Patterson addresses both roster holes.
Last season in Atlanta, he started 11 games, rushing for a career-high 695 yards and eight touchdowns. Patterson also caught 52 passes for 548 yards the year before. Patterson is no longer one of the most dynamic athletes in the NFL, but should be more than serviceable for the Pats, who will likely ask a rookies to start the year as their No. 4 receiver and Ty Montgomery to be their third running back.
But Montgomery hasn’t topped 200 offensive yards in any season since 2018. Meanwhile, Patterson’s done that in five of the last six years.
For the Falcons, they sell high on a 32-year-old player entering a contract year whose career they successfully revived. They replace him with Harris, a young power back who’s shown no plus skills in the preseason besides his strength. He becomes their new No. 3 or 4 option, behind clear-cut lead backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier.
Patriots acquire: Browns OT Tyrone Wheatley Jr.
Patriots trade: Conditional 2024 seventh-round pick
The Patriots signed/re-signed three offensive tackles in the offseason: Riley Reiff, Calvin Anderson and Conor McDermott. Let’s review where they all stand with two weeks left until the opener.
Reiff is playing right guard and has for almost two weeks straight. He started training camp at right tackle, his projected starting spot, then McDermott replaced him after two days.
McDermott? He’s hurt. He didn’t practice last Thursday at Green Bay and missed both practices this week. The Pats, perhaps unfairly, threw him out at left tackle during the preseason opener after working him on the right side in camp, and his tape was predictably terrible.
A false start, run stuff allowed on the second drive alone. No one is signing him immediately to their 53-man roster if he’s cut.
Then, there’s Anderson. Hyper local man of mystery. He’s been stuck on the Non-Football Illness list for more than a month and hasn’t taken the field once. There have been breadcrumbs indicating Anderson might return soon, but he’ll need an extended ramp-up to catch teammates who have been practicing and conditioning at full speed for more than a month.
Having already missed on Cardinals swing tackle Josh Jones (traded Thursday to Houston), the Pats should call about Browns swing tackle James Hudson III. The former fourth-round pick has drawn rave reviews in his third season, but if Cleveland says no, they settle for Wheatley. Hudson and Wheatley have impressed in the preseason and been schooled by the league’s best O-line coach in Bill Callahan. Capable offensive tackles are like pitching in baseball: even the best teams can’t have enough.
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Except if you're facing a serious numbers crunch. In Cleveland, Wheatley is stuck behind starters Jedrick Willis, Jack Conklin, fourth-round rookie Dawand Jones and Hudson. Through two preseason games, he's played 61 snaps at left tackle and 37 at right tackle, per Pro Football Focus. He staved off two of the best defensive lines in the league, Washington and Philadelphia, posting an elite 95.6 run-blocking grade and 97.6 pass-blocking efficiency, both metrics scored out of 100.
At worst, Wheatley would provide solid, ascending depth at positions of viral importance need for the Patriots. Mac Jones was pressured on more than 40% of his dropbacks - 40! - in last week's exhibition at Green Bay. If the offensive line can't trust fourth-round rookie Sidy Sow, a career college guard now playing right tackle, it's in serious trouble.
The Patriots should patch their O-line by sending Cleveland their 2024 seventh-round pick that converts into one of the two sixth-rounders they own if Wheatley plays eight or more games.
Patriots acquire: Raiders DT John Jenkins, 2024 seventh-round pick
Patriots trade: 2024 sixth-round pick
Last September, the Patriots shipped young offensive tackle Justin Herron to Las Vegas in a pick-swap trade.
Time for Josh McDaniels to return the favor.
Jenkins is a 34-year-old run stuffer who played under ex-Patriots assistant and Dolphins defensive coordinator Josh Boyer the past two seasons. He's reportedly on the bubble in Las Vegas, where McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler have stocked their defensive line perhaps 10-11 deep. In this scenario, the Raiders squeeze some value from Jenkins on the way out instead of outright cutting him to keep recent draft picks Neil Farrell Jr., Byron Young and Nesta Jade Silvera.
In Jenkins, the Patriots fill the backup nose tackle void they tried to address by claiming ex-Panthers defensive lineman Marquan McCall. The 370-pounder reportedly failed a physical before being cut Wednesday. Jenkins, at 6-foot-3, 327 pounds, isn't nearly as big, but would arrive with a proven track record and system experience.
Patriots acquire: Rams DL Aaron Donald
Patriots trade: 2024 first-round pick, 2024 second-round pick, 2026 third-round pick, WR Kendrick Bourne
Emphasis on "nuts."
Maybe the adjective should be crazy or insane or diabolical instead. This deal isn't happening. But for the sake of thought exercise, and recognizing the Patriots are in uncharted territory with a habit of making unexpected moves, let's proceed.
The genesis for this fake trade was a question former Patriots executive and Belichick consigliere Mike Lombardi floated last month: if the Rams start slowly, and seem destined for a top draft pick they could used to land an elite quarterback prospect in Caleb Williams or Drake Maye, would they trade Donald at the deadline?
Donald is a future Hall of Famer a few steps away from his prime as arguably the best defensive lineman to ever live. He has two years left on a contract complicated by void years, which the Rams tacked on for salary cap purposes. Los Angeles has already shed Jalen Ramsey and his contract for cap and rebuilding reasons.
For the Patriots, Donald's money - particularly within expected market growth of the next two years - isn't unreasonable. His trade value should also be lower than it's ever been: Donald's 32, coming off the first serious injury of his career and the Rams are rebuilding. Donald may not want to play for another franchise, but if he did, shouldn't playing for the greatest coach in NFL history work?
Plus, the Patriots feel the urgency of this season. From Belichick to Mac Jones, it's a prove-it year. Belichick isn't guaranteed to make all those draft picks - one of which, the 2026 third-rounder, they might recoup as a compensatory pick if Donald walks after the 2024 season. Belichick also surely recognizes if the Patriots win this season, their defense will light the way.
So instead of patching a team weakness (their offensive line or receiving corps), he amplifies a strength and likely fields the best pass rush in the NFL. Donald would instantly free up 1-on-1 matchups across the defensive front for Matt Judon, Josh Uche, Christian Barmore and others. He can play in any front, and that collective pressure protects a young group of corners (Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones and Jack Jones?) that must mature quickly.
Donald would be beyond an out-of-character swing for the Patriots, acquiring a declining player (granted, from Hall of Fame heights) at the cost of significant future draft capital. But if they open 3-4, the Rams stumble to 1-6 and Donald is playing like prime Donald, who says no?
Losing Bourne, of course, would hurt. But the Patriots plan to employ tight end Mike Gesicki as the super-sized wide receiver he really is. Therefore, Bourne will be fighting him for playing time, with Rhamondre Stevenson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker and Hunter Henry having already nailed down starting spots. Not to mention, the Patriots holster promising rookies Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte behind him, along with Tyquan Thornton; all young receivers could conceivably function as No. 4 or No. 5 option.
Bourne reunites with ex-49ers offensive assistant Mike LaFleur, now the OC in Los Angeles, and returns to the system that launched his career. Several teams inquired about Bourne's availability last offseason. If the Rams were one of them, aren't they and the Pats a step closer to this deal than most teams - even if it's, seemingly, fantasy?
Most nights before bed, Patriots backup linebacker Calvin Munson says a prayer.
Every time he leaves the field after a game, he does the same.
So naturally, after one of the chilling moments of his 7-year career last weekend at Green Bay, Munson's instinct was to take a knee. It was his incidental contact that had leveled rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden and left him motionless and concussed on the field with 10:29 left. Like the rest of his teammates, Munson watched Bolden lie immobilized on a stretcher and get carted away to a nearby hospital before the game was called.
Few teammates, though, realized Munson's hit had caused the injury. Initially, he was left alone with his thoughts, a mix of guilt and shock. That is, until Patriots captain Matthew Slater gathered the team in prayer.
Munson joined, then spoke alone with Slater, who was among the few who knew exactly what had happened.
"(Slater) was just like, 'It was just a football play. It's hard to know, and you're probably feeling like you're blamed for it, but just know it's a bang-bang play. There's nothing really you could have done. We'll just keep praying for him,' " Munson told the Herald.
Munson, 28, later visited with his parents, who attended the game, and spoke with his fiancee over the phone. He prayed with all of them and again by himself. The prayers continued, even after Patriots trainer Jim Whalen took over for coach Bill Belichick in the locker room post-game to announce Bolden had feeling and movement in all extremities.
Munson listened and felt relief wash over him, especially after Whalen's follow-up announcement that brought more good news. Though, he didn't sleep that night in Wisconsin. Munson instead texted Bolden, who quickly replied, and both of them received more support from teammates and staffers as the Patriots retreated to Foxboro.
"My number one concern was that he was doing OK," Munson said. "I'm just super glad and blessed that he's doing better."
In recent days, the waves of comfort have come slow and steady for Munson, easing any lingering guilt. He finally got to visit with Bolden in the locker room Tuesday. Munson said they shared a quick embrace; two players on the roster bubble bound by a moment that went far beyond football and served as a reminder it's never too late to lean on each other or count your blessings.
"I was pretty beat up that night because no one wants to be part of a play like that," Munson said "I was just really concerned for him and praying he was OK, and luckily, God answered those prayers because he's doing better. Much better. Just a lot of emotion that night."
“That was pretty impressive. She’s tough, man. Just stood out there and played right through it." - Bill Belichick discussing Taylor Swift's concert performance on WEEI's “The Greg Hill Show."
"Look, I'm definitely on the, 'you've got to calm down.' That's pretty good. You've got to calm down. There's a lot of times when that's very appropriate." - Belichick, again, discussing Swift; specifically her song titled "You Need to Calm Down."