Despite reported interest, Patriots stand pat at NFL trade deadline
The 2023 NFL trade deadline has officially passed, with no move from the New England Patriots. Despite their 2-6 record, the team is standing pat.
That lack of moves doesn’t mean there was a lack of interest. There were reports of teams calling the Patriots on multiple players, including linebacker Josh Uche and running back Ezekiel Elliott. However, no deals materialized. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted shortly before the deadline officially past that it “doesn’t sound like anything got close” in terms of the Patriots getting a deal done.
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Initially the Patriots were tabbed as sellers not only because of their record, but because they have a number of contributors playing in the final year of their contracts. Moving those players would have given the Patriots a chance to add draft capital and build for the future while parting ways with players they didn’t seem to be on track to retain in what is building towards being another season without a playoff appearance.
Now that the Patriots kept have players on expiring rookie contracts like Uche, safety Kyle Dugger, and offensive lineman Michael Onwenu, the question will turn to whether or not they can reach contract extensions with any of them. The Patriots could sign those players to an extension at any time, although there’s been little reporting about any progress in that regard.
There were also some rumors that indicated the Patriots may look to be buyers. Mainly, Jeff Howe of The Athletic shared that the team called the Washington Commanders to check in on the price of defensive end Chase Young. Young – who is in the final year of his rookie contract and is a pending free agent – instead ended up getting dealt to the San Francisco 49ers for a third round pick.
In total, there were eight moves made league-wide between the end of the Week 8 games and the trade deadline. The highest picks moved were second-rounders. The Seahawks sent a 2024 second and 2025 fifth to the Giants for defensive tackle Leonard Williams, and the Bears sent their 2024 second – likely a top-40 pick – to the Commanders for defensive end Montez Sweat.
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