Five Trade Bait Patriots

WIth news of Derek Rivers being flown back to Boston for an MRI on his knee and Kony Ealy getting banged up (but returning) in joint practices with the Texans, the Patriots already-precarious and inexperienced depth just took another blow. They’re down to Trey Flowers and Geneo Grissom as their only two fully healthy ends.

Could the Patriots explore a trade to bring in needed reinforcements at the position? Of course it will depend on the prognosis for Rivers and Deatrich Wise, who suffered a concussion in the first preseason game. Though even with those two fully healthy and in the mix, Ealy’s disappointing camp has still left something to be desired from this important position.

The Patriots never stand pat with their roster. As much as we want to do 53-man roster projections and think that that will be the 2017, the team is constantly tinkering with their players, bringing guys in off the street and via trade.

But to bring someone in via trade the Pats would have to give up something. Let’s take a look at five Patriots who could be trade bait.

1. Dion Lewis — While I can easily see the Pats sticking with their four running backs going into the season, it’s their best spot of depth and one where they could most easily absorb a hit. Lewis played plenty in the first preseason game, showing good burst and all the promise that he’s on course to return to something close to his 2015 form. He’s also their top kick return option, so losing Lewis wouldn’t be a seamless transition, but he has a skillset that would appeal to teams and could get something significant in return. He’s in the last year of his deal though and some teams could balk at a one-year rental of Lewis.
2. Vincent Valentine — Valentine had a very solid rookie year at defensive tackle in 2015 and has the kind of size that isn’t easy to find. He’s still a bit raw and would likely see a dip in playing time this season with the presence of Lawrence Guy. That could make him expendable, especially if Adam Butler continues to emerge. I’d prefer Valentine to be the heir apparent to Alan Branch, but again, you have to give something up to get something. Valentine might be too much of a Patriots-specific player for teams to think he can flourish elsewhere though.
3. Chris Hogan — With five starting-quality wide receivers, Hogan is probably the only option that could make sense for a trade. Cooks ain’t going anywhere. Edelman’s too important. Mitchell’s too promising. Amendola’s too brittle. Hogan was the primary X-receiver last year, but now it looks like Cooks will take that role which means a dip in Hogan’s importance. Still, teams are sure to balk at taking a wide receiver from the Pats like this. Sure he had success with Brady, but that’s no assurance he’ll be anywhere near as effective with an average QB.
4. Malcolm Butler — Certainly not what I want to see happen, but from a depth standpoint we know the Pats could overcome losing Butler with Gilmore and Rowe. This would certainly be a controversial trade, especially since Butler has looked so good this summer, but controversial trades have always been BB’s jam, often in August. By getting something for him now, the Pats would avoid any potential contract squabble next year and get something in return for him. Butler would require a big prize in return, and that would be the only reason to pull the trigger, especially if it’s for an impact player who would be under contract beyond this season.
5. Jimmy Garoppolo — Trading a quarterback this late in the summer is never an easy thing to pull off, but there’s little question Garoppolo is the Pats’ best moveable asset. I’ve always preferred to keep Garoppolo as long as possible to let everyone’s football fates play out, but if any trade bait is going to bring a valuable haul in return it has to be then young QB who lit it up against the Jags last week. Could another team bring Garoppolo in now and get him ready to start the regular season? I’m sure there are plenty of teams that would be happy to try.

As August winds down you have to be prepared for anything when it comes to Bill Belichick and the Patriots roster. Floating an idea like trading Richard Seymour in mid-summer 2009 would have been met with fierce resistance, but that’s just what BB did. He always has an eye to the future and won’t hesitate to make a controversial move if he thinks it will be best for the club in the long term.

Maybe none of the defensive end injuries are serious enough to keep them from the season opener. Maybe Belichick if fine with the depth that he has, despite it looking thin and unproven to us.

All the answers will be revealed between now and Labor Day.