What trade moves should the Patriots make before the deadline?

[Boomer B]

I still think 2002 was worse. Pass offense may be a bit better but defense was definitely worse and it's not close. I'll give you AV and the QB.

I think your perspective of that offense is very optimistic. We all know about the run defense. They also had one of the worst rush offenses in the league too. Branch was nothing special yet. Brady also wasn't all that just yet. You mentioned guys like Branch and Brown and yet the last 7 games of the season TB threw for over 220 yards zero times and under 200 yards 4 times in that timeframe. Offense overall was bottom third in yards in the league. That team didn't get better as the season went on and into December - they got worse.

The Titans demolition on MNF that year went just like the SF game on Sunday except that was in December and not in October. Not very BB like to have that happen to one of his teams when they usually peak in December.

Different game back then. That was before the pass interference rules changed and QBs weren’t throwing 300 yds every game.

 

[sb1]

Different game back then. That was before the pass interference rules changed and QBs weren’t throwing 300 yds every game.

Yeah it was before the Polian rule changes... but I don't think the offense was very good either way.

But they were great in the first game against a very arrogant Steeler team and a media that was doubting them. I've never seen ESPN experts unanimously pick the visiting team to win in the home opener of the defending champs since that game. Best part of that season.

 

[Wozzy]

Do you know how many Kurt Warner’s made it in the league? 1 Kurt Warner. You are pretty much saying we should avoid trading good players so we can hope we find a miracle at QB rather than just do the responsible and more likely thing which is find a guy in the draft like everyone else has to and unload players who will be older or prohibitive before that QB develops.

There is something to lose... time and assets. We can guy something for Thuney now, not next year. Gilmore will be old before we can make a run again.

You are basically saying we shouldn’t cut down and make a budget because we can buy some lottery tickets for cheap and hope

No, what I'm saying is do both. Next season you have Stidham, Ta'amu (for example) and a high 1st QB draft pick competing for two spots. You can't put all your eggs into any one basket, you need multiple options with the hope of hitting on one. Rookies fail also.

 

[Wozzy]

Minshew?......LMFAO

At least 2 of the 3 teams in your quote would jettison their young QB in a nanosecond and it could be argued Cincy would prefer Lawrence and the assets a Burrows trade would bring the Bengals

Not every team is going to get Trevor Lawrence, some are going to settle for the 2nd and 3rd best QB's in the draft. And the Pat's have zero shot at Lawrence. Minshew is good, what am I missing? He's good now on a really horrible team. Burrow is not going anywhere, Cincinnati needs to build a team around him and the Pat's will have the most draft capital in the league to trade... especially if they unload Gilmore and/or Thuney.

 

[lancerman]

No, what I'm saying is do both. Next season you have Stidham, Ta'amu (for example) and a high 1st QB draft pick competing for two spots. You can't put all your eggs into any one basket, you need multiple options with the hope of hitting on one. Rookies fail also.

Listen there’s like two starting QB in the league drafted later than Stidham and only two more that are drafted in the same round or later. Over 84% of the starting QB’s in the league are 1st or 2nd rounders.

Stidham at best has like a sub 5% chance of being the guy and it’s probably lower based on literally everything we’ve seen of him in real games. You want to buffer this with guys that probably have an at best a sub 1% shot historically of being a real franchise QB. And I’m generous at that.

Bring in someone like Rivers or Dalton if you want some baseline of competition. Stidham ain’t it and some undrafted nobody isn’t either.

That’s not a strategy. That’s refusing to face reality and hoping for a miracle to avoid the hard work it identifying someone in a draft and spending good capital not knowing if they will pan out. This team should be doing nothing but drafting round 1 or 2 QB’s each draft until we hit on one.

 

[lancerman]

Not every team is going to get Trevor Lawrence, some are going to settle for the 2nd and 3rd best QB's in the draft. And the Pat's have zero shot at Lawrence. Minshew is good, what am I missing? He's good now on a really horrible team. Burrow is not going anywhere, Cincinnati needs to build a team around him and the Pat's will have the most draft capital in the league to trade... especially if they unload Gilmore and/or Thuney.

If Minshew was good he’d still be a Jaguar and have no chance at getting here. You are advocating for hoping and wishing on obvious failures turning into Cinderella so that you can avoid a rebuild

 

[Sciz]

I might even franchise Thuney.

HOWEVER, if he goes, OG is NOT a top priority with Mason and Onwenu as starters, and Froholdt as a backup. I would expect us to use a midlevel or late draft choice on OL's yet again.

Herron could be in the guard discussion too. We don't know for sure right now because the absences have always been a mix of tackles and interior guys.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

Could you please point to when Bill has EVER had a "fire sale"?

What team would want to take Thuney when they can't renegotiate his contract until the end of the season? Not to mention the unknown extent of his ankle injury.

These ideas of yours make DWToys look like frakking Einstein.

Why would teams take Edelman? There is only one place he'd want to go. And that's Tampa. And Tampa doesn't need him.

White is a rental and the Pats would be lucky to get a 6th rounder for him..

Why destroy a damn good O-line only to set yourself back 5-7 years? Which is what would happen in your scenario?

Thuney is gone after this season. He isn't coming back. Edelman was just a suggestion, if you can read, I said ask those players if they want to stay or be traded. Edelman will most likely retire after this season anyway. This season is a wash. We should try to load up on picks for next season. Free up as much cap as possible to roll into 2021.

 

[lancerman]

As far as how fast they can turn this team around. It can happen fast. A lot of cap space, a lot of draft picks (11 is the number I’m hearing with the compensatory picks included), and several guys coming back from covid opt out.

They MUST draft a QB in the 1st round. They will have a top 10 pick, so they need to do that. MULTIPLE EXPLOSIVE OFFENSIVE weapons are a must at the WR/TE positions, whether in round 2 on in the draft or FA. Cannot be ignored anymore. I appreciate that they FINALLY addressed the TE position in the draft, but another thing that needs to change to succeed in the rebuild is to utilize the weapons you are drafting, not babying them.

Here’s the issue. There are three QB’s in this draft that I absolutely take in the first round and the rest are reaches. Lawrence, Fields and Lance.

We are ahead of the

0-2 Jets
1-5 Bengals
1-5 Texans
1-5 Jaguars
1-6 Giants
1-5 Vikings
1-6 Falcons
2-5 Washington Football Team
2-5 Cowboys

That would give us the 10th pick EXCEPT.....

.... we are currently tied with the

2-4 Chargers
2-4 Broncos (we get the tie breaker here)

I’m just saying.... if we lose next week, and winning the division is not a possibility, we actually hurt ourselves pretty badly by beating the Jets

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Here’s the issue. There are three QB’s in this draft that I absolutely take in the first round and the rest are reaches. Lawrence, Fields and Lance.

We are ahead of the

0-2 Jets
1-5 Bengals
1-5 Texans
1-5 Jaguars
1-6 Giants
1-5 Vikings
1-6 Falcons
2-5 Washington Football Team
2-5 Cowboys

That would give us the 10th pick EXCEPT.....

.... we are currently tied with the

2-4 Chargers
2-4 Broncos (we get the tie breaker here)

I’m just saying.... if we lose next week, and winning the division is not a possibility, we actually hurt ourselves pretty badly by beating the Jets

I would call up Joe Judge and see of he wants to flip picks...

 

[mgcolby]

All in on tank for Trevor. Sadly I don't see BB being able to stomach something like that. So I suspect we win 4-6 games and have a top 10 pick. Trade Gilmore and Thuney if he isn't interested long term or if BB won't give him top G pay. And give Jules the option. Hopefully that equates to an additional 1st and 2nd round pick in the draft.
I don't see any reason to try and remain competitive and finishing middle of the pack and maybe sneak in to the 7th spot in the playoffs.

 

[sb1]

All in on tank for Trevor. Sadly I don't see BB being able to stomach something like that. So I suspect we win 4-6 games and have a top 10 pick. Trade Gilmore and Thuney if he isn't interested long term or if BB won't give him top G pay. And give Jules the option. Hopefully that equates to an additional 1st and 2nd round pick in the draft.
I don't see any reason to try and remain competitive and finishing middle of the pack and maybe sneak in to the 7th spot in the playoffs.

Getting the #1 pick overall would require a trade up with pieces we don't really have.

Or losing out the string and if we do that even then we might not get there.

In that latter scenario we'd also be looking for a new head coach for sure. Probably a bunch of other coaches too.

 

[scout]

Here’s the issue. There are three QB’s in this draft that I absolutely take in the first round and the rest are reaches. Lawrence, Fields and Lance.

We are ahead of the

0-2 Jets
1-5 Bengals
1-5 Texans
1-5 Jaguars
1-6 Giants
1-5 Vikings
1-6 Falcons
2-5 Washington Football Team
2-5 Cowboys

That would give us the 10th pick EXCEPT.....

.... we are currently tied with the

2-4 Chargers
2-4 Broncos (we get the tie breaker here)

I’m just saying.... if we lose next week, and winning the division is not a possibility, we actually hurt ourselves pretty badly by beating the Jets

A lot of those teams play each other this year.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Only if this season is shot, it’d be pretty hard to rebound if they don’t beat Buffalo.

Again, I want to keep Thuney, but if it’s unlikely to get a new deal done, let’s trade him and save some money.

Why are we trying to save money when we have like 30M of open cap space now after all these opt-outs, and like 100+ Million in open cap space next year ??

 

[stinkypete]

Here’s the issue. There are three QB’s in this draft that I absolutely take in the first round and the rest are reaches. Lawrence, Fields and Lance.

We are ahead of the

0-2 Jets
1-5 Bengals
1-5 Texans
1-5 Jaguars
1-6 Giants
1-5 Vikings
1-6 Falcons
2-5 Washington Football Team
2-5 Cowboys

That would give us the 10th pick EXCEPT.....

.... we are currently tied with the

2-4 Chargers
2-4 Broncos (we get the tie breaker here)

I’m just saying.... if we lose next week, and winning the division is not a possibility, we actually hurt ourselves pretty badly by beating the Jets

The Jets tanking for the right to destroy Trevor Lawrence's career is a given at this point.

Fields and Lance are going 2 - 3, barring an injury of Tua proportions. In the hypothetical universe in which the top 10 remains fixed, both the Bengals and Dolphins (picking for Houston courtesy of Bill O'Brien) are looking to trade out, since they are both set long term at QB. This leaves the Jags, who hold the Rams pick along with #4, in the most likely position to pick a QB. Let's give them Fields.

After that, someone from the fray of the Giants, Vikings, Falcons and The Football Team will either lay an egg, or emerge as suitors for Lance. I'd give the Giants and The Football the edge as teams more likely to suck the rest of the way. The Cowboys could bottom out, but I see them retaining Prescott at a reduced rate in the wake of his injury.

A QB at 10 (and the Patriots will not be picking at #10 without an unexpected fire sale) is completely out of the question here, but however the rest of the top 10 shakes out could have a ripple effect on the Pats. If the Giants go QB in round 3 they could be looking to cut their losses on Daniel Jones, and if the Falcons tank, they could let go of Matt Ryan. These moves don't thrill me, but the other likely options at QB are either one year stopgaps (Fitzpatrick) or downgrades (Minshew, Darnold, Taylor, Winston).

 

[scott99]

The Jets tanking for the right to destroy Trevor Lawrence's career is a given at this point.

Fields and Lance are going 2 - 3, barring an injury of Tua proportions. In the hypothetical universe in which the top 10 remains fixed, both the Bengals and Dolphins (picking for Houston courtesy of Bill O'Brien) are looking to trade out, since they are both set long term at QB. This leaves the Jags, who hold the Rams pick along with #4, in the most likely position to pick a QB. Let's give them Fields.

After that, someone from the fray of the Giants, Vikings, Falcons and The Football Team will either lay an egg, or emerge as suitors for Lance. I'd give the Giants and The Football the edge as teams more likely to suck the rest of the way. The Cowboys could bottom out, but I see them retaining Prescott at a reduced rate in the wake of his injury.

A QB at 10 (and the Patriots will not be picking at #10 without an unexpected fire sale) is completely out of the question here, but however the rest of the top 10 shakes out could have a ripple effect on the Pats. If the Giants go QB in round 3 they could be looking to cut their losses on Daniel Jones, and if the Falcons tank, they could let go of Matt Ryan. These moves don't thrill me, but the other likely options at QB are either one year stopgaps (Fitzpatrick) or downgrades (Minshew, Darnold, Taylor, Winston).

I’m thinking Lance may drop some, due to the quirkiness of his 2020 season, and he only has one full season of tape. I think Zach Wilson of BYU and Mack Jones of Alabama may move up in the draft, especially depending on how the rest of their seasons go. I’m really a big Zach Wilson fan, due to the way he throws the ball. He has a cannon, is very accurate, and can extend plays with his feet, good at the RPO as well. Decent size at 6’3” 210. Eats, drinks and sleeps football as well. I’d be thrilled with Wilson in the 1st round, though I’d defer to the draft experts on this board.

 

[Froob]

Why are we trying to save money when we have like 30M of open cap space now after all these opt-outs, and like 100+ Million in open cap space next year ??

Why would we want to waste cap? You can only use more.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

If Minshew was good he’d still be a Jaguar and have no chance at getting here. You are advocating for hoping and wishing on obvious failures turning into Cinderella so that you can avoid a rebuild

We can bring Fitzmagic to Foxboro, helping him complete his tour of the divison.

Just kidding.

But sometimes he doesn't suck.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Why would we want to waste cap? You can only use more.

I don't get the thinking. We have a TON of space now and also next year. Even in a rebuild you want to keep good core guys. Think of Bruschi, Ty Law, McGinest, etc. Maybe trade if they're old but why trade young talented guys when we have a ton of cap space. A rebuild is to recreate a group of talented young guys and Gilmore and Thuney are not old. Would you get rid of them for 2nd rounders? Seems like a total ripoff.

.

 

[DaBruinz]

Why are we trying to save money when we have like 30M of open cap space now after all these opt-outs, and like 100+ Million in open cap space next year ??

The Pats currently have only 22.7M in cap space for this season. They do NOT have 100+M in cap space for 2021. With the Cap dropping for next year, likely to the $175M mark, the Pats would have $43+M in cap space INCLUDING the optouts from this season as well as the 22.7M carried over. Not remotely close to what you are saying.