3 Patriots on the Trade Block After the NFL Draft

It's been a memorable offseason already for the New England Patriots, and for a wide variety of reasons. Obviously, the most notable event to take place so far in 2024 is the departure of longtime head coach Bill Belichick, an NFL legend who will almost undoubtedly go down as the greatest head coach of all time.

As the Patriots transition out of the Bill Belichick era and into the Jerod Mayo era, it's not surprising that a lot will remain the same roster-wise.

Head coach Jerod Mayo is familiar with the personnel, and we saw the Patriots put a huge emphasis on bringing guys back in NFL free agency before adding to the roster in the NFL Draft. Now, the Pats have a young quarterback in North Carolina star Drake Maye to build around, and possibly a top 10 defense to have his back.

But what Patriots players could be on the move via trade as we continue to progress through the offseason? There are a handful of names that could make some sense.

1. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR

I'm not sure how much longer the Patriots are going to put up with JuJu Smith-Schuster, or if they'd even be able to trade him for anything at this point. They could save almost $7.7 million by trading him after June 1, and perhaps around training camp/roster cuts is when Smith-Schuster's value in a trade could actually ramp up.

We've seen the Patriots try to sort of clean the slate at receiver this offseason. They added Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker in the 2024 NFL Draft after signing KJ Osborn in free agency. The Patriots also brought back Kendrick Bourne in free agency even though he's coming off of an injury.

Add in the presence of other young players like DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Jalen Reagor, and Tyquan Thornton, and there's just not many ways to justify Smith-Schuster stealing snaps from those guys when he's not producing at a high level.