Despite what were some pretty strong pre-season expectations for the New England Patriots, they seem to have outperformed even what the most optimistic fans could have hoped for.
They are first in the AFC East, one game ahead of division rivals, the Buffalo Bills, whom the Patriots beat in Buffalo back in early October, and rank in the top-10 in both total offense and defense.
Not to mention, they have the best young and up-and-coming quarterback in all of football in Drake Maye, who leads the NFL in completion percentage at 75.2%, and is second only to Lamar Jackson in passer rating with an incredibly impressive 118.7.
One area, however, in which the team still may be looking to up their overall performance is the rushing attack. Rhamondre Stevenson leads the team in rushing, with 279 yards – but his total comes only 29 yards ahead of that of Maye, who has 250.
At just an average of 35 rushing yards/game, the Patriots could use an upgrade at the position. An upgrade that they are currently not finding with second round rookie, TreVeyon Henderson, who has been used inexplicably seldomly, despite averaging almost a yard more per carry (4.3) than Stevenson (3.4).
Trade Proposal Has The Patriots Find A New RB1
So in this trade proposal, New England trade for Tennessee Titans running back, Tony Pollard. Pollard has been solid on the ground in 2025 despite playing for arguably the worst team and most misfiring offense in football, and had his third consecutive 1,000+ yard rushing season in 2024, his first year in Tennessee.
Lying at 1-7, the Titans should be looking to offload talent prior to next Tuesday’s trade deadline, with essentially all hopes of the postseason finished.
And with the return of 2024 third rounder, Tyjae Spears, the team have a starting back that can take the load in place of the former Cowboy; at present the pair are splitting carries in the backfield.
Why A Move For Pollard Would Make Sense For New England?
Between Stevenson and Henderson, the Pats have two guys that they should, in theory, feel good about. Neither have delivered to the extent that they should be trusted to lead a backfield for a bona fide playoff contender – and perhaps more – in 2025.
The Patriots have a big discrepancy between their passing offense ranking, 9th and their rushing offense ranking, 18th. And as Maye starts to stay in the pocket more and make fewer plays on the scramble, their numbers on the ground could diminish even further.
New England also lost their third choice back, Antonio Gibson to a season-ending ACL tear earlier this month, so they are already limited options-wise in the tailback department.
Pollard has led backfields for the past four years, and is still in his prime at age 28. He comes with just an $8.5 million cap hit in 2025, followed by $9 million in 2026 – something that will not deter the Patriots, who continue to have the most amount of cap space in 2025.
New England Patriots receive:Â Tony Pollard, 2026 sixth round pick
Tennessee Titans receive:Â 2026 fourth round pick
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