The lack of trades surely went over well in the Patriots’ locker room. No one lost a job on Tuesday. This strengthens the team’s “we all we need” identity in its first year with coach Mike Vrabel. The Patriots also signaled that despite their great record and No. 2 standing in the AFC, they want to continue building for the long haul. They still have a full stable of draft picks for next year, which includes an extra fourth-rounder and three extra sixth-rounders.
Here comes the “but.”
Tuesday’s inaction also felt like a missed opportunity for the Patriots. Despite their record, they are far from perfect. The defense, especially, could use reinforcements — a pass rusher, and depth in the secondary. The Patriots have just two sacks in their last 77 passing plays — one each on Dillon Gabriel and Michael Penix, the latter of whom picked apart the Patriots’ secondary in the fourth quarter and nearly pulled off an impressive comeback. There’s more to the pass rush than sacks, but the Patriots need another productive body or two, especially with Harold Landry battling an ankle injury.
It’s OK the Patriots didn’t take a huge swing like trading two first-round picks for Myles Garrett, though the Browns didn’t seem interested. A second-round pick for Trey Hendrickson, if the Bengals would have accepted, would have been intriguing. At minimum, the Patriots could have found a depth pass rusher for a late-round pick. Same for a cornerback or running back.
The Patriots don’t need to go all-in for a Super Bowl this season. But making a trade Tuesday would have galvanized the fan base and maybe even the locker room, showing everyone that the Patriots understand they are in a rare position, and they’re going for it.
No one expected the Patriots to be 7-2, and they shouldn’t go crazy and scrap their long-term plans, but the AFC is wide open, and Drake Maye is playing like an MVP. Who says the Patriots can’t make a serious run this season? Certainly not the 2001 Patriots.
In exchange for cornerback Sauce Gardner (left), the Jets received two first-round picks and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell from the Colts.Yuki Iwamura/Associated Press
The Patriots’ inaction was contrasted by several contending teams who did make moves. The Colts, also 7-2 and holding the No. 1 seed in the AFC, weren’t content with their surprise start. They traded two first-round picks and rookie second-round receiver Adonai Mitchell to the Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner, less than four months after Gardner signed a six-year, $145 million contract. Colts general manager Chris Ballard may be drunk off losing seasons — five straight years without the playoffs and seven without a playoff win — but Gardner is only 25 and the Colts’ defense just got a lot better.
The Seahawks, 6-3 and holding the NFC’s No. 3 seed, weren’t content with their stellar offense, which ranks No. 5 in points and has two MVP candidates in Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Seahawks recognized that they’re too top-heavy with Smith-Njigba, and added one of the NFL’s best deep threats, Saints receiver Rashid Shaheed, for fourth- and fifth-round picks.
The Jaguars, 5-3 and in the AFC’s No. 7 seed, added the receiver a lot of Patriots fans wanted back, the Raiders’ Jakobi Meyers. He’s potentially a rental since Meyers will be a free agent in March, but with Brian Thomas struggling and Travis Hunter on injured reserve with a knee injury, the Jaguars acquired a savvy veteran receiver for a small price, fourth- and sixth-round picks.
Patriots fans would have liked the team to go out and get Jakobi Meyers back from the Raiders, but the Jaguars got him for two Day 3 draft picks.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
The 3-5-1 Cowboys are in 11th place in the NFC, but they still made a massive deal, acquiring Quinnen Williams from the Jets for a second-rounder in 2026, first-rounder in 2027, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Jerry Jones may be misguided, but Williams is only 27, and was a great addition for the long term.
The Jets are the one team the Patriots don’t have to worry about. They acquired a lot of premium draft picks but depleted their defense. The Patriots will face what will surely be a demoralized Jets team Nov. 13. And it’s great that the Jets got all these fancy draft picks, but the hard part is using them correctly, which they often don’t.
Other teams made smaller moves leading up to the deadline. The 5-3 Steelers added Dugger for next to nothing, with the Patriots even paying all but $650,000 of his $10.9 million salary this year. The 5-3 Bears traded for former Buccaneers first-round defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. And the 6-2 Eagles, never content under GM Howie Roseman, added defensive end Jaelan Phillips, and cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Michael Carter II.
The Patriots, though, are moving forward with what they’ve got. We’ll see whether it’s all they need, or if Wolf and the Patriots missed their opportunity to bolster the roster for a deep playoff run.
Ben Volin and Alex Speier break down the World Series and debate if Ohtani is the greatest player of all time, plus Red Sox great Fred Lynn joins the show.
Ben Volin can be reached at [email protected].
