5 Patriots Most LIkely to Be Traded by the Deadline

New England Patriots fans are riding a high following Week 7's 29-25 upset win over the rival Buffalo Bills. Even if some doubters are back to being believers, the victory doesn't change the reality of the franchise's current situation.

The Patriots are still at the bottom of the AFC East with a 2-5 record ahead of Week 8. The postseason is still a long shot, too, with FanDuel Sportsbook only giving New England +1200 odds to make the playoffs — an implied probability of just 7.1%.

As such, all signs point to the Patriots being sellers at the Oct. 31 trade deadline. It's probably for the best, too. With New England likely missing the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, Bill Belichick would be wise to sell off the extra fat in exchange for draft picks to help build for the future.

With that in mind, here are the five Patriots who are most like to be traded by next week's deadline.

5 Patriots Most Likely Traded by Oct. 31 Deadline

1. Kendrick Bourne

In a year where New England's wide receiver room has been among the worst in the NFL, Kendrick Bourne has been one of the few bright spots.

Bourne leads all Patriots WRs in receptions (34), receiving yards (370) and touchdowns (3) through seven games. In fact, he's only only wideout on the team who's found the end zone this season.

Nevertheless, the 28-year-old's time in New England could be coming to an end. Bourne is set to become a free agent at the end of the season and could be tempted to test the open market if the Patriots are heading toward a full-on rebuild.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler also reports that New England "could" try to see what they can get for Bourne "as they did last year." The former Eastern Washington product would be a solid WR3/4 for most contending teams and the fact that he's an upcoming free agent means any interested parties likely wouldn't have to give up too much.

Rather than lose him for nothing in March, expect the Patriots to try to get something for Bourne by Oct. 31.