Getty New England Patriots
Heading into Week 2, the New England Patriots are searching for the first victory of the season. Could making a move jump start New England’s season?
The Patriots passing game was nothing special in Week 1. Mac Jones threw for just over 200 yards and New England’s leading receiver was Jakobi Meyers with four receptions for 55 yards.
One player who didn’t perform so well was Nelson Agholor. The veteran wide receiver only had three receptions for 28 yards along with a fumble.
With the lack of output in the passing game, New England could explore trade options to make its team better or simply to make some cap space. Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox placed Agholor on his “NFL Trade-Block Big Board.”
“Moving Agholor would make sense from a financial standpoint, as trading him would clear at least $4.9 million off the cap,” Knox wrote. “New England could save more if a team agreed to take on some of his dead money.
“Agholor, who had just three catches for 28 yards in Week 1, doesn’t have much long-term value for New England.”
Who Would Want Agholor?
If the Patriots did choose to trade Agholor, there are some teams who would be interested. Knox named the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons among the possible suitors.
“The Packers should be near the top of the list of teams willing to take a flier on the 29-year-old. Their receiving corps was underwhelming during the Week 1 blowout loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers only went 22-of-34 passing for 195 yards and an interception,” Knox wrote. “The Falcons could also be interested. They have little proven depth behind rookie Drake London and were eyeing the receiver market at the roster cutdown deadline. Both Atlanta and Green Bay were interested in acquiring Laviska Shenault Jr. from the Jacksonville Jaguars before he was dealt to the Carolina Panthers, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.”
Patriots Aren’t Concerned With Losses
While some fans in New England are concerned after the Patriots Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Matthew Judon isn’t. One of the leaders of New England’s defense believes the Patriots just need to move on.
“Honestly, no disrespect, but it don’t matter. You gotta move on,” Judon said. “We got to play better. We want to win games, so we don’t really take no moral victories and be like, ‘Alright, well we could have did this, we did this.’ We didn’t do anything good enough to win. So, we’ve got to step it up and play better. As good as we played — as good as we think we played, we’ve got to be better in order for us to win games. That’s really what it’s all about — every week going 1-0, so we’ve just got to play better.”
Judon had a solid showing in Week 1 with four quarterback hits, five tackles, and a sack.
If the Patriots do end up recording another loss in Week 2, the results could indeed start to matter and New England could end up trading Agholor to get some financial flexibility.