Patriots Rumor Patriots potentially trading for Aiyuk (Update - Patriots Out of the Running)

[Ring 6]

The Patriots got screwed because they were in a position to be screwed. They had an untalented team with lots of cap that was primed to make a free agency splash like in 2021.

When the cap went up, talented teams that already had good players were able to keep them. They were expecting a market that didn't materialize. We already saw what happened. Once the cap went up, teams started extending players that were projected for free agency with the extra cap room they had. Hence, they didn't go into the market and the Patriots didn't have a shot at them.

If you put all your hopes in free agency, you are at the whims of the market. We found this out twice over the last 5 years. The fanbase hyped up how much cap we had during a mediocre season and then the market was **** and we didn't get much out of it. That's the risk you take. If we were really tanking we would have drafted MHJ and went for a QB or something next year and rode out Mac another season.

This team has been poorly built for awhile. People are just starting to accept it now that all the golden carrots are out of the way.

2019: "Oh Brady is being a diva and is toxic and it's ruining the younger guys development. He's clearly cooked and making a fuss"
2020: "This team would be good if not for Cam. I can't watch another season with Cam at QB".
2021: "Mac showed some promise and he's a rookie, if he develops more this offense will prove what it is".
2022: "Mac declined and he needs a bounce back year. Or Zappe is really the answer we should start him".
2023: "Mac is the problem I can't watch him anymore. Oh **** Zappe sucks, I guess all the QB's on this team are horrible".

There's no more excuses anymore or quick fixes, which some of us knew.

Even now, this offense aside from the QB who everyone hated is not much different than the offense last year that Bill Belichick built. It's amazing that people took this long to realize that we built a **** team.

They chose not to spend money. Your 2023 comment is actually very correct. With mediocre qb play this would have been a 10 win team that could have become a contender with 43 million more spent.
Instead we dumped the GOAT, hired the worst coaching staff in the NFL and refused to spend so with mediocre qb play we will probably win 4 games again this year.

I am certain the way not to fix it is to go to battle with 20% your best roste r missing because Kraft left the money in his pocket.

 

[h0c2000]

A better title might be: "You'll never guess who the Patriots almost traded for!"

 

[lancerman]

For 23 years. The best 23 years in the history of any franchise.

And we seem to be learning that he did it with one hand tied behind his back by Krafts limits on spending.

We don't seem to be learning that. We seem to be learning that Brady showed he's the same guy somewhere else with that coach. Meanwhile when Brady leaves, that coach looks a lot like guy he used to be when he was in Cleveland. Kraft's franchise turned around and was substantially better when he got involved with the team from the prior years even before Bill became coach. The luck ended when Kraft picked Bill over Brady and effectively gave him cart blanc and hung he hung himself with all the rope.

31 other teams aren't ****ing stupid. They see it to and didn't want to touch him. He's currently off rebranding himself to damage control on tv so he can get another job.

 

[TheRainMaker]

No argument with your points, they are spot on. It will take time for the offense to gel enough to be able to win games. I will be happy if next year the offense is not so bad that it loses games on its own. Best case is that the offense starts to show at the end of the year which is probably too late for a playoff spot. We also have to account for a game not won due to coaching decisions. Similarly as long as Mayo learns from the experience the team will be much better at this time next year.

I like what I'm hearing regarding Polk and Baker. I think the curse may finally be breaking. The trio of them and Douglas could be fun to watch. This is also help clear out Henry and give the running game some breathing room. Anything from Thornton would be icing on the cake assuming he stays.

 

[lancerman]

They chose not to spend money. Your 2023 comment is actually very correct. With mediocre qb play this would have been a 10 win team that could have become a contender with 43 million more spent.
Instead we dumped the GOAT, hired the worst coaching staff in the NFL and refused to spend so with mediocre qb play we will probably win 4 games again this year.

I am certain the way not to fix it is to go to battle with 20% your best roste r missing because Kraft left the money in his pocket.

They didn't choose not to spend money. They just offered 30 million a year and got denied. If they want to spend money just to spend it, they could waste it all giving everyone extensions this year. It's just not a smart move.

You got 4-13 because of the GOAT. The GOAT QB left because he couldn't exist with with the GOAT. The GOAT pissed off Gronk and got him to stay away from football a year and then force his way out a year later to run to the QB. The GOAT chose to pick up Jonnu Smith. The GOAT chose to sit on his hands and pick Mac Jones. The GOAT chose to walk into 2020 with pants down and scramble for Cam Newton last minute. The GOAT never made a serious play for a WR in the better part of a decade.

I get it, you don't want to deal with the fact that Belichick objectively showed that without Brady he's pretty close to the exact same guy he used to be before Brady that nobody really felt was anything special. But the results don't lie. Bill has coached 11 full years without Brady. His resumes with and without him speak for themselves.

 

[Triumph]

Forget Ayuck. Just keep building through the draft.

The 2024 Pats are a 6 - 8 win team at best, so they should be picking in a good spot again in 2025.

 

[lancerman]

Yeah, how dare they try to win when they could have simply given up and been in the ideal situation the Jaguars are in right now with Trevor Lawrence at QB? The jags had it right.

Btw, at 2-5 they were already out of the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes as the Jags finished 1-15.

Everyone knew it was a dud season when they went 5-2. The short term dopamine fix for two weeks sure didn't last long and now people are still crying 4 years later. Almost like fans should stop pissing their pants over short term fixes to feel better and think longterm.

 

[Steve102]

Oh we gotta have Jerry Jeudy!

Oh we gotta have Calvin Ridley!

Oh we gotta have Brandon Aiyuk!

None of those guys make this team division winners this year. This build is going to be slow. If Drake is really good, think Pro-Bowl/All-Pro/Cover of Madden Type then maybe next year or 2026 they will be good enough to have a deep run in the post season. Maybe. Aiyuk doesn't want to be here? Good, f*ck him.

Focus on building a team, not collecting shiny FF stars.

I can't help but think that every time they go after one of these freakin' divas, that "this is why Bill didn't f*ck with these douchepools."

Let's see what we have with the guys we have at WR.

 

[Ross12]

Oh we gotta have Jerry Jeudy!

Oh we gotta have Calvin Ridley!

Oh we gotta have Brandon Aiyuk!

None of those guys make this team division winners this year. This build is going to be slow. If Drake is really good, think Pro-Bowl/All-Pro/Cover of Madden Type then maybe next year or 2026 they will be good enough to have a deep run in the post season. Maybe. Aiyuk doesn't want to be here? Good, f*ck him.

Focus on building a team, not collecting shiny FF stars.

I can't help but think that every time they go after one of these freakin' divas, that "this is why Bill didn't f*ck with these douchepools."

Let's see what we have with the guys we have at WR.

I am curious if some other guys will still shake loose. Ceedee Lamb is still holding out in Dallas, and I could see DK Metcalf being traded. Tee Higgins still feels like a fringe potential option considering Chase is *****ing about HIS deal already while Higgins is getting actively jerked around.

 

[Rob0729]

So we were good the last 4 years and didn’t need to rebuild after the GOAT left?

Belichick must have done something to rebuild because pretty much all they did this off season was resign his players.

So you think the best way to build a franchise is to purposely not try to put the best team on the field, until some point in the future where then you will use years of unspent cap space and try to bring in half a team by free agency?
That doesn’t work.

The Pats needed to rebuild, but they didn't. They desperately needed offensive talent last year and Belichick drafts almost exclusively defensive players and went into the season relying on Mac Jones to raise the talent around him like he used to ask of Brady.

I think best way is try to get a QB who can be your franchise QB and build around him and do everything possible to put him in a position to succeed. You know like make the special teams coach the QB coach even though he knows nothing about being a QB coach, your DC into your OC, give your QB a bunch of mediocre 2s and 3s to work with, and one of the worst offensive lines in the league. You know the stuff that even the worst starting QBs could thrive on.

But seriously, this Patriots' team is at least trying to put Maye in a position to succeed. They are trying to get him a legitimate #1 WR. They drafted three offensive targets for him. The only place they totally failed thus far is to improve the o-line enough. But a lot of that was out of their control since there were no LTs on the market except one underachiever they wanted to get rid of and a veteran who is in his last year of his career who wanted to go to a team he might have a shot to win.

 

[FCB02062]

No one wants to play in New England...cheap owner, sh#t facilities, terrible team, awful weather, no prime time games, inexperienced coaching staff w zero track record, sky high taxes, stadium in the middle of nowhere....

 

[borg]

No one wants to play in New England...cheap owner, sh#t facilities, terrible team, awful weather, no prime time ganesy, inexperienced coaching staff w zero track record, sky high taxes, stadium in the middle of nowhere....

Team did retain the core of the 4 win 2023 team plus added a veteran stable pony QB to start

 

[Triumph]

Oh we gotta have Jerry Jeudy!

Oh we gotta have Calvin Ridley!

Oh we gotta have Brandon Aiyuk!

None of those guys make this team division winners this year. This build is going to be slow. If Drake is really good, think Pro-Bowl/All-Pro/Cover of Madden Type then maybe next year or 2026 they will be good enough to have a deep run in the post season. Maybe. Aiyuk doesn't want to be here? Good, f*ck him.

Focus on building a team, not collecting shiny FF stars.

I can't help but think that every time they go after one of these freakin' divas, that "this is why Bill didn't f*ck with these douchepools."

Let's see what we have with the guys we have at WR.

Can somebody name a high dollar impact WR trade that actually panned out for the buyer in terms of winning a Super Bowl or making it to a Super Bowl?

 

[Triumph]

No one wants to play in New England...cheap owner, sh#t facilities, terrible team, awful weather, no prime time games, inexperienced coaching staff w zero track record, sky high taxes, stadium in the middle of nowhere....

I hear that the clam chowder has really gone downhill.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

Can somebody name a high dollar impact WR trade that actually panned out for the buyer in terms of winning a Super Bowl or making it to a Super Bowl?

Terrell Owens on the Eagles is the only one that springs to mind.

 

[Love The Drake]

Terrell Owens on the Eagles is the only one that springs to mind.

honestly everything I’ve seen about Aiyuk recently I’m glad he’s not coming here.
Going to Was training camp and shooting his way out of SF.
Wait til he gets that money.
I think we dodged one.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Oh we gotta have Jerry Jeudy!

Oh we gotta have Calvin Ridley!

Oh we gotta have Brandon Aiyuk!

None of those guys make this team division winners this year. This build is going to be slow. If Drake is really good, think Pro-Bowl/All-Pro/Cover of Madden Type then maybe next year or 2026 they will be good enough to have a deep run in the post season. Maybe. Aiyuk doesn't want to be here? Good, f*ck him.

Focus on building a team, not collecting shiny FF stars.

I can't help but think that every time they go after one of these freakin' divas, that "this is why Bill didn't f*ck with these douchepools."

Let's see what we have with the guys we have at WR.

I don't think anyone had eyes for Ridley/Aiyuk/etc with the illusions that it'd make us division winners or even elevate us above being one of the worst teams in the NFL. I think the goal of acquiring them is exactly what you're saying we should do - build a team.

Ridley and Aiyuk are both considered among the best route runners in the NFL. You can have all the coaching you want, but there's no better teacher for a young player than a proven vet doing it at a high level in the trenches with them to show them the ropes.

Also, we have a young QB who's considered a developmental project. Having him try to find his footing at the NFL while throwing to receivers trying to find theirs seems... less than ideal. If you couple supplement those young guys with a proven, reliable option at the top... that sounds better.

 

[sb1]

A better title might be: "You'll never guess who the Patriots almost traded for!"

This name will shock you...

 

[Steve102]

Can somebody name a high dollar impact WR trade that actually panned out for the buyer in terms of winning a Super Bowl or making it to a Super Bowl?

Randy .... wait... umm Wes.. um nope...

Danny Amendola
David Patten
Plaxico Burress

Those guys are FAs tho, so that's not really your criteria.

Maybe Brandon cooks to LA. Tyreek Hill would be graded an Incomplete so far.

There's more here: The most significant wide receiver trades of all time

EDIT: To your point, @Triumph, there's not a lot that meets your criteria.

 

[Toofy]

I don't think anyone had eyes for Ridley/Aiyuk/etc with the illusions that it'd make us division winners or even elevate us above being one of the worst teams in the NFL. I think the goal of acquiring them is exactly what you're saying we should do - build a team.

Ridley and Aiyuk are both considered among the best route runners in the NFL. You can have all the coaching you want, but there's no better teacher for a young player than a proven vet doing it at a high level in the trenches with them to show them the ropes.

Also, we have a young QB who's considered a developmental project. Having him try to find his footing at the NFL while throwing to receivers trying to find theirs seems... less than ideal. If you couple supplement those young guys with a proven, reliable option at the top... that sounds better.

Pop is gonna surprise us a lot this year and be the release valve .. let's have patience . And who knows we get lucky like GB and all 3 - baker, Polk and Thornton play like studs. Let's wait out this year . Anyways we are not making the post season. It's time for chaffing and finding the grain.