It’s certainly been a busy 24 hours at Patriots Place in Foxborough as the current AFC East leaders have shed two veteran players they’ve not been using much, safety Kyle Dugger and Keion White, sending both away for minor returns, late-round draft swaps. But the moves have created room on the team’s roster and with the NFL trade deadline hovering on Tuesday, November 4, there is a question about whom might be added now that those two are gone.
While reports–as well as logic–suggest that the Patriots are likely to seek depth on the defense rather than adding offensive players, there could be some exceptions. The Patriots could use a stronger option at running back, as both Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson have had ups and downs (probably more downs than the team would like).
And while the receiving corps has been far stronger than most would have expected, there is one role that the Patriots could look to fill via trade: a deep speed merchant. At ESPN, the prediction is that the Patriots will target exactly that before Tuesday.
Patriots Seeking a Deep Threat at WR?
Examining every team’s situation heading into the trade deadline, ESPN predicts that the Patriots will target Rashid Shaheed of the Saints.
Writes Ben Solak of the site: “Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. Both Chris Olave and Shaheed should be targets, but Shaheed would probably cost less and also fits nicer into the spread-the-wealth style of quarterback Drake Maye. Shaheed brings a field-tipping speed element that is woefully absent in New England’s current receiving corps, and he could be easily extended while keeping plenty of cap open for a gigantic WR1 contract next March.”
(Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots
Patriots Could Likely Afford Rashid Shaheed
Indeed, the Patriots will be reluctant to give up too much draft capital at the deadline, because the team still feels it is in a long-term rebuild and needs to fill the roster with draft picks–there’s a limit on how much they can do with big free-agent spending.
Shaheed, undrafted out of Weber State, won’t be expensive as he is heading to free agency. He was an All-Pro return man in 2023, and as a receiver, has never had more than 719 yards in a season. He is among the fastest players in the NFL, and that speed is an element the Patriots could use.
The expectation in New England was the rookie Kyle Williams could fill the speedy deep-threat role on the roster, but he has yet to make a significant impact this season. Williams has played just 91 snaps in eight games and has two catches on the year.
Vrabel: ‘Always Look to Improve Our Roster’
Whether it is Shaheed or someone else, it’s probably a good bet that the Patriots will attempt to make some sort of deal before the deadline. So far, they’ve subtracted two players from the roster, but coach Mike Vrabel has the team in contention in the AFC and the Patriots need to take advantage of that position.
Speaking on Boston radio this week, Vrabel indicated the team will look to add, not just remove.
“I think we could try to always look to improve our roster,” he said. “Whether that’s at every position, we’re gonna look to try to improve anyway we can.”
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