FOXBOROUGH - After signaling to the rest of the league that they were open for business - and getting a head start on trade season by dealing Josh Uche last week - the Patriots appeared poised to make at least one more move before Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline, maybe more. Instead, nothing. Nada. Bubkis.
In fact, in an amusing turn of events, the team's PR department posted on social media about roster moves right around 4 pm, and I'm sure plenty of people furiously clicked the link, hoping that GM Eliot Wolf had swung a last-minute deal.
Instead, you were greeted by the releases of Andrew Thomas and Bryan Hudson, plus the addition of linebacker Monty Rice to the practice squad. You want to talk about a tease that doesn't get paid off. Mercy.
"The one thing about the trade deadline, I talked about this on Monday; at least in the NFL, everyone wants to build it up like it's baseball or baseball. It's not," said Jerod Mayo Wednesday morning. "We do our research on everything. And I would say Eliot (Wolf) and his staff contacted multiple teams and multiple teams contacted us like every other team around the league."
That's true. Per league sources, the Pats were hearing about a handful of their own players — Davon Godchaux, Jonathan Jones, Kyle Dugger, Kendrick Bourne, and K.J. Osborn — but didn't like what was being offered in return. Or — especially in the cases of Jones and Bourne — wisely chose to keep some veterans in a locker room that lacks an abundance of good players and the leadership to help it navigate challenging times. Still, the chance to move a veteran player or two made a lot of sense for the powers that be. They've been talking about a rebuild from the moment they took over, sometimes cloaked and sometimes straight up. So why didn't it happen?
"I'm not sure," said Mayo. "I mean, look, for us, it's about value. It's about thinking about the present and also trying to get better in the future."
The wide receiver room remains in focus here. The Pats currently have seven on their 53-man roster. Not only do they not have enough playing time for that group, but the team has actually performed at its best offensively in 12-personnel (two tight ends, two wideouts, one RB). So peeling off an Osborn, who's made it clear he'd like to move on, or Tyquan Thornton, another healthy scratch on Sunday, made all the sense in the world, even for what you would consider nothing, say a conditional 7th round pick. But no. Not here. Not now, although a couple league sources believe that Osborn is headed for a release, so why surrender anything for him?
"These guys are on the roster right now," said Mayo. "We're always, again, looking to get better, and that may be addition through subtraction. I don't know what group it is, but we're always looking to get better."
Osborn told reporters he's just concentrating on being a good teammate. Bourne mentioned that the number of guys in that room should elevate the competition, not just on Sundays, but during the week. However, except for Kayshon Boutte, I can comfortably say none of the pass catchers have exceeded expectations. Instead, almost all have underperformed through the first nine weeks of the season. The Pats are the only team in the NFL without a player with multiple receiving touchdowns. Different year and a better quarterback, but so far, the same results.