Pats Pulpit
The Nov. 4 NFL trade deadline is right around the corner. For the 7-2 New England Patriots, it provides an opportunity to bolster the roster after recently shipping out Keion White and Kyle Dugger.
New England has 10 picks in the 2026 NFL draft at their disposal to work with, which includes an additional fourth-round selection and four picks in the sixth round.
As for potential targets, here are six players who could be on the radar.
With Rhamondre Stevenson (toe) missing last week’s game against the Falcons, the Patriots are left just with rookie TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings, who was signed from the practice squad Wednesday, on the active roster. If they are in search of an additional body to add to the rotation, Ford could be on his way out of Cleveland after the Browns selected both Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson in the draft. Mike Vrabel also has experience with Ford after spending last year in Cleveland, while the 26-year-old also has kick return experience.
Houston’s Dameon Pierce also comes in a similar mold as Ford.
If Stevenson is sidelined for a longer period of time, New England could opt for a more experienced back to handle the majority of carries. Pollard fits those qualifiers as he has three 1,000-yard season to his name from 2022-24. His 3.9 yards per carry this season on a bad Tennessee team is a career-low, but the 28-year-old could find better success situated in New England.
New York’s Breece Hall would be the other high-profiled back available, but an in-division trade seems unlikely.
Key overlapped with Mike Vrabel and his Titans staff in Tennessee in 2023, where he played 63 percent of their defensive snaps and recorded 6.0 sacks. After finishing with 6.5 sacks last year, the veteran has managed just 1.5 sacks in five games this season as the Titans’ struggles are leading to a sell-off.
The one player New England seemed to not re-sign during the 2024 offseason has settled in nicely to the Cardinals defense. This season, he has ranked as one of the top linebackers in football in preventing separation in pass coverage — which could help a Patriots defense that has struggled guarding tight ends and running backs. The 27-year-old Wilson is under contract for one more season as the three-win Cardinals find themselves buried in the NFC West.
Sticking in Arizona, Thompson could bring more coverage ability to the Patriots secondary to play off of Craig Woodson and Jaylinn Hawkins. The 27-year-old, who has played 100 percent of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps this season, will be a free agent after the season while Arizona drafted a safety in last year’s draft.
If New England was looking for pure-depth options behind Woodson and Hawkins to replace Dugger, Jason Pinnock (49ers) and Xavier Woods (Titans), who is now dealing with...
