Welcome to October, and New England's favorite silly season ...
"Who ah the Pats going to trade fah to put themselves ovah the top?!
It's a good question, especially this season, as we move closer to the 4 p.m. Nov. 3rd trade deadline.
For all the talk about what the Patriots could or should do, they actually aren't all that active in terms of impact players at the deadline. Have they had some? Sure. But just two of the last 10 traded-for players were truly impact players.
A look at the Patriots' in-season deals going back to 2011, the positions they should target, and then we'll get into some of the players I'm hearing might be available and attractive to the Patriots:
2019
WR Mohamed Sanu from Falcons for a 2nd-round pick.
2018
WR Josh Gordon and a conditional 7th-round pick from Browns for a 5th-round pick (Sept. 17th).
2017
None.
2016
LB Kyle Van Noy and 7th-round pick from Detroit for a 6th-round pick (Jamie Collins was traded out).
TE A.J. Derby from Denver for a 5th-round pick.
2015 (none were deadline deals)
WR Keshawn Martin from Texans for a 5th-round pick (Sept. 17).
LB Jon Bostic from Bears for a 6th-round pick (Sept. 28).
DT Akiem Hicks from Saints for TE Michael Hoomanawanui (Sept. 30)
2014
LB Akeem Ayers and a 7th from Titans for a 6th-round pick.
LB Jonathan Casillas and a 6th from Bucs for a 5th-round pick.
2013
DT Isaac Sopoaga and a 6th from Eagles for a 5th-round pick.
2012
CB Aqib Talib and a 7th from Bucs for a 4th-round pick.
2011
None.
Some points on the trades:
- Van Noy, Ayers and Talib were the only traded players who provided meaningful help to the team. And even Talib and Ayers are pushing it. In Talib's two seasons, the Patriots won a playoff game in each (over the Texans and Colts) but lost in the conference championship game. Ayers played 24 total defensive snaps in three postseason games in '14.
- You can't count Gordon since he was suspended before the regular season was even over.
- Sanu and the second-round pick was truly the outlier in all this, and shows how desperate the Patriots were last year at receiver. Most of the time, the Patriots are only willing to part with a 5th-round pick.
- Most of the traded players, save Talib, Sanu and Gordon, were role players. Van Noy was really a role player here at first until injuries hit.
- You can place the trades into the following boxes: Salary dump (Sanu); Attitude dump (Gordon, Talib, Van Noy); The Expendable Role Players (Derby, Martin, Bostic, Ayers, Casillas, Sopoaga, Hicks).
- Yes, I view September deals differently than deadline deals. If you're making a deal in September, you addressing a glaring hole on your team left from either a poor job in the offseason, or injury. It's not a deal to push a team over the top.
6th (from Cowboys for Michael Bennett)
6th