The New England Patriots didn’t make any moves before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, which some fans are very angry about. However, the lack of moves could tell us that they are preparing for multiple players coming back from injury.
Instead of giving up draft capital and adding more money to the roster, they have A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, and hopefully Alijah Vera-Tucker coming back from injury after the bye week. They may have viewed these returns as their “big moves”, which is understandable; those are three very good players that will be back making a difference. This also allows the Patriots to keep their draft assets to build for their future, and during a year where they have been ruined by injuries, they probably don’t want to sink any more assets into yet another weapon.
Now I can also see the side of why fans are angry. You have Drake Maye back there with no healthy weapons, a decimated offensive line, and you are asking your 24-year-old quarterback to put the team on his back week after week. He desperately needs some help, and it is clear he doesn’t have the same confidence he did last season, or even last month.
There are many things to consider when it comes to why the Patriots stood firm and didn’t make any moves, so let’s dive into some of them.
The Patriots have already added multiple players to this offense
Even though most of the Patriots' additions are injured, they did add multiple pieces that had the potential to shine in New England. Brown and Doubs were supposed to be massive contributors who turned this offense into one of the deadliest in the league. It obviously hasn’t worked out like that with Brown missing multiple games due to injury, and then when he finally returned, Doubs was placed on injured reserve. We have yet to see a full game with both Doubs and Brown on the field together, which is insane to see this far into the season.
My prediction is that Mike Vrabel and the Patriots front office are patiently waiting to get their two big off-season acquisitions on the field together, as well as their starting left guard, Alijah Vera-Tucker, who was playing at an All-Pro level before he was hurt. Brown hasn’t lived up to the hype quite yet and has struggled to get back to his old self. But with some more rest and Doubs coming back after the bye week, hopefully he can be rejuvenated.
On paper, this offense, when fully healthy, should be a serious issue for opposing defenses, so let’s just hope the bye week can provide the time off they need to get back into their groove.
New England could've made a small move to at least help this year
One thing I don’t understand is New England not making a single move. I am not asking for them to trade a first-round pick and swing for the fences, but a move for another rotational pass rusher like K’Lavon Chaisson wouldn’t have taken much. They could’ve gotten him for a late-round pick and immediately bolstered their pass rush.
Chaisson was here last year (I believe they never should’ve let him go in free agency), so he has familiarity with the system, and he has some real juice when it comes to getting after the quarterback.
The Patriots could really use another piece on the defensive line, and for whatever reason they decided to just keep it pushing with the lack of depth they have now. If they can get things figured out and sneak into the playoffs, their lack of pass rushers could be one of the things that really comes back to bite them, and all they had to do was make one move that wouldn’t have taken much in terms of draft capital.
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