Patriots news & rumors: Adrian Phillips’ big game; DeVante Parker rumors

The New England Patriots showed a lot of resiliency on both sides of the football during their 27-24 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Week 8 matchup.

In a tight battle going into the fourth quarter, the difference maker in the game was a former Chargers player who has played an important role with the Patriots.

With two interceptions off Justin Herbert, including a go-ahead pick 6 in that final quarter, Adrian Phillips was the hero of the game and got his proper praise from head coach Bill Belichick.

"“He does a good job of seeing the routes, seeing the quarterback, having vision on the ball,” Belichick said following the game, via Patriots.com.  “Just good awareness. He’s a good football player. He did that when we opened last year against Miami, the first game in the 2020 season where he made the play on the slant route. He makes those plays in practice, too. He knows football and has good hands.”"

New Engalnd Patriots safety Adrian Phillips gets the ultimate revenge

In a game in which the Patriots needed someone to step up in the secondary, conveniently it was Phillips, who has been an unsung hero on that Patriots defense since signing as a free agent a season ago.  He absolutely loved sticking it to his former team, especially with this game-changing interception:

"“Everybody always wants to kind of stick it to their former team, and this is a great organization that we played against today,” Phillips said, via the Boston Herald. “Just to be able to go out there and play against them and end up having the game that I had, it was sweet. I loved it.”"

New England Patriots fans loved it as the team has battled back from a 1-3 start to even their record at 4-4.

NFL rumors: Patriots should show interest in DeVante Parker

With that win over the Chargers on Sunday, the Pattioyd should be buyers at the NFL Trade Deadline.

While needs at cornerback and perhaps the defensive line may top the team’s needs, wide receiver is still an area where they could use an upgrade.  No shade on Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne or Nelson Agholor, but the Pats still need an established No. 1 receiver and Miami Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker could fit the bill.

With the Dolphins struggling at 1-7, Parker is a name teams have been calling Miami inquiring about.  Is one of those teams the Patriots?  Should one of those teams be the Patriots?

The 28-year-old receiver has scorched the Pats over the past couple of seasons and you know Bill Belichick has taken note of that.  Typically, when players have success against New England, they end up in New England, especially when they have had that success playing for an AFC East foe.  Wes Welker and Chris Hogan come to mind.

Parker, who has 25 receptions for 327 yards and a touchdown on the season would be a prime target for Mac Jones in the Patriots’ offense.  There are some health issues, but the price it will take to land Parker makes him a low value target with a possibly high value payoff.