Patriots Make Surprising Trade, Acquire Dolphins WR DeVante Parker

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12 months ago at 2:15 pm ET

Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

One of the key benefits of having Brian Flores no longer in Miami is that it apparently opens the door for a trade between Division Rivals that you wouldn’t think was possible.

According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins reportedly completed a trade that will bring wide receiver DeVante Parker to the Patriots. New England reportedly gave up a third-round pick in the 2023 draft, while receiving Miami’s 5th round pick in this year’s draft.

Sources: The #Dolphins are trading WR DeVante Parker to the #Patriots in exchange for late-round draft pick compensation. Parker lands at a perfect place with stability he’s been wanting, while MIA gains financial flexibility.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 2, 2022

This move is reminiscent of the trade New England made with Miami back in 2007, which brought Wes Welker to the Patriots, sending a second-round pick along with a seventh-round selection to the Dolphins. The then 25-year old Welker then agreed to a 5-year extension, which helped set up a terrific run during his tenure. Parker may not necessarily be at Welker’s level, but he was also in an offense that dealt with a fair amount of inconsistent QB play last season.

Bill Belichick has always been a fan of bringing in guys who have made things difficult on his football team and Parker certainly falls into that category. Parker combined for 6 passes for 93-yards during their two meetings last season, including 4 passes for 81-yards in the opener, which resulted in a 17-16 win by the Dolphins.

Staying healthy has been the big thing that has been difficult for him, with Parker appearing in just 10 games in 2021, along with missing two games in 2020 as he battled hamstring injuries. He’s played in all 16 games just once in his career which happened in 2019, with Parker having his most productive season after finishing with 72 receptions for 1202 yards and 9 touchdowns, including 21 receptions of 20+ yards and 7 of 40+.

Needless to say, the potential is definitely there. He joins a group that was already pretty talented to begin with, which will likely make Jakobi Meyers, Nelson Agholor, and Kendrick Bourne much more formidable with him now on the roster.

With tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith also in the mix, Mac Jones certainly has quite the arsenal as things definitely look quite different after Belichick pulled off what might become another memorable move if the 29-year old Parker can get back to where he was a few seasons ago.