#patriots

#patriots

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.

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.

The unit performed well during the preseason, but became more of a liability once the regular season finally began. The biggest problem continued to be at kicker, with rookie Andy Borregales looking like a potential mistake, on top of issues with the typically reliable punter Bryce Baringer, and tackling becoming more of a problem each week. What hasn't been problematic, however, is the return game, which has now been officially taken over by cornerback Marcus Jones.

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."

After suffering a disappointing loss to the Raiders last Sunday, the Patriots hope to rebound in big fashion in their first divisional matchup of the season against a very depleted Dolphins team in Miami this weekend. Typically, this is a game circled on the calendar every year for the sole reason that the Patriots are considered cursed in Miami and have long struggled in their games in South Beach. However, their lackluster performance, which might be the kindest way of putting it, against the Colts last week, increases the Patriots' odds of adding the first win to their season.

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.

"We'll call it what is is: It hasn't been real great," Vrabel said of the team's drafting in recent years.

As roster cuts are underway and teams are preparing to finalize their 53-man team for the 2025 season, the Patriots are inevitably going to look at those who are hitting the free agent market to see if anyone can boost their team further. They have a few vulnerable positions to focus on, as many don't have a lot of depth, and the offense could become the focus.

Throughout the offseason, there have been questions about the Patriots' quarterback room behind Drake Maye for various reasons. Some analysts and fans were intrigued by the addition of veteran Joshua Dobbs, while others weren't sure about the value he brought to the roster or Maye's development. The same could be said about Ben Wooldridge, but he was released not long after his lackluster performance against the Giants last week in the preseason finale.