#patriots

#patriots

So we can agree that those mostly dull and frequently grim years while the Patriots crossed the rickety bridge to get from Tom Brady to Drake Maye were all worth it and then some, right? That probably goes without saying around here, but in an attempt at some humility, Patriots fans must remind themselves that there are at a minimum 25, and probably as many as 31, fan bases in the NFL that don't believe the Patriots suffered nearly enough after two decades of dominance.

In the weeks leading to Tuesday's trade deadline, the Patriots have been reported as more likely buyers than sellers, with a few key names put on the table as potential targets. Because they are short on running backs, need help with the pass rush, and are always open to adding more wide receivers, a handful of players have been circled as good fits this season.

Looking at the Patriots' roster and how they have collectively performed so far this season, there are plenty of guesses about what positions they might target with the trade deadline right around the corner. Many have suggested they'll prioritize the offense, but the latest from reporters like The Athletic's Chad Graff suggests otherwise -and with some of the rumored names potentially becoming available, it makes sense.

Since Julian Edelman chose to retire after the 2020 season, the Patriots have struggled to find reliable receivers for their quarterbacks to work with. That's a big reason Mike Vrabel prioritized boosting the position in free agency and the draft, especially since the expectations for Drake Maye's second season were sky high. It led them to sign Stefon Diggs, despite coming off a season-ending ACL injury, to become the offense's go-to pass catcher.

The 2024 season is not one that most Patriots fans will choose to remember for many reasons, with one of the most prominent being their failed draft class. Beyond the impressive selection of quarterback Drake Maye, who looks to be their next franchise star, the rest of the group were almost deemed immediate busts. Despite Jerod Mayo and Co. targeting every position of need at the time,

Because the Patriots are projected to be potential buyers ahead of the trade deadline in a couple of weeks, there's a good chance they will be looking to improve some of their weaker positions before it's too late. They still have an estimated $54 million in cap space, most of which they'll want to rollover to next year, but there are a few players who might be on their radar.

To make things more egregious, the flag wasn't thrown until the Patriots were celebrating the touchdown in the end zone, leading many to believe it was going to be a taunting penalty. Instead, it was a flag for offensive pass interference, initially called on TE Austin Hooper, only to be later revised and claimed to be on Stefon Diggs. The problem, though, was that there was no pass interference, even when the commentary team tried to spin the play into looking like it fit the penalty.

On Saturday afternoon, news broke that starting pass rusher K'Lavon Chaisson would not be on the field on Sunday night, as he is still dealing with a knee injury that kept him away from practice in the days leading up to the game. That inevitably puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the defensive line, with an emphasis on the other pass rushers that will need to ensure Chaisson's absence is not too apparent, especially when going against a quarterback like Josh Allen and a running back like James Cook.

There are a lot of areas the Patriots need to improve upon, and most of them have been made abundantly clear through three games already. After their Week 2 win over the Dolphins, it appeared as though many of those issues were behind them, only for them all to be back in full force against a very beatable Steelers team.

"I think it's always about the entire package. When you look at compensation, it's the body of work. It's what they're going to do for us," Vrabel said of Williams in March. "There's a high ceiling and a great vision about the person, the effort, the skillset, the speed in which he plays. There's power. Certainly, there's an aggressiveness. To be able to add him to our defensive line is something that was really exciting."

The 29-year-old former Patriots captain was released by New England in a surprising move on cutdown day last month. Peppers had just signed a contract extension with the team last year. "It is what it is, sometimes you're not good enough," Peppers said in a video posted to YouTube by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "You play a long time in this league, you know, you're going to get traded or cut."

A lot went wrong for Mike Vrabel and the Patriots in their season-opening loss to the Raiders on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. After a promising first half, Drake Maye and the Patriots' offense flatlined down the stretch - punting or turning the ball over on six of the team's final seven drives of the afternoon. New England's defense did only allow 20 points, but Geno Smith and the Raiders still managed to generate

Throughout training camp, the Patriots were fortunate to have a legitimate competition between their two kickers, one of whom, Andres Borregales, they used a sixth-round draft selection on earlier this year. The other, Parker Romo, was a member of the 2024 squad and brought a tough battle to the widely considered best kicking prospect of the 2025 class. That meant it took all the way until roster cutdowns for Mike Vrabel and Co. to ultimately decide who would fill the role this year.