Getty New England Patriots, Nelson Agholor
The New England Patriots are getting calls from NFL teams interested in trading for their seemingly expendable wide receivers.
The Score’s Jordan Schultz reported teams have been calling the Patriots about the prospects of adding veteran wide receiver Nelson Agholor in a trade. The NFL’s trade deadline is set at Nov. 1, so any deal would likely be completed sometime within the next few days–if one is to be completed.
Agholor has seemingly fallen out of favor with the Patriots’ coaching staff this season. He had an abysmal season in 2021 after signing a two-year, $22 million deal in free agency. Agholor had only 37 receptions, which was the lowest of his career since he had just 36 in his second season in the NFL.
Agholor’s 473 receiving yards and three touchdowns were also well beneath the production New England expected and hoped to see from the now-29-year-old veteran.
The 2022 season had a brief early highlight for Agholor when he had his best game in a Patriots uniform in Week 2 vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers. Agholor managed six receptions for 110 yards and one TD in a game that has proven to be fool’s gold for the receiver and the team.
Since that Week 2 explosion, Agholor has a grand total of five receptions for 87 yards and no touchdowns. He was inactive for Week 6, but during his last two games, Agholor has no receptions and has played in a total of 10 snaps.
With New England not doing much to raise Agholor’s trade value, New England would be lucky to get anything more than a fifth-round pick as compensation.
Kendrick Bourne is Seemingly Drawing Interest As Well
The Patriots’ Kendrick Bourne is another Patriots wide receiver who has seemingly found himself on the wrong side of the coaching staff. After being one of the few successful free-agent signings from the 2021 offseason, Bourne has been a major disappointment this year.
It all begins with snap count for Bourne, who wasn’t active for the Week 7 loss to the Bears.
Bourne has seen his playing time dip significantly compared to the 2021 season. Last year, Bourne was on the field for 57% of the Patriots’ snaps. This year, he’s played on just 29% of the plays from the line of scrimmage.
That’s by far the lowest usage rate of Bourne’s NFL career. He appears to be frustrated. While always presenting positive energy when he’s speaking, you’d have to imagine Bourne is pretty frustrated and would perhaps welcome a change of scenery.
Do the Patriots Need a QB in the NFL Draft?
If New England parts ways with Agholor, Bourne, or both, they will likely bring back draft picks as compensation.
One question that will be of major interest the closer we get to the end of the season centers around the team’s quarterback situation. Do the Patriots need to consider drafting another quarterback?
They took Jones No. 15 overall in 2021 and drafted Bailey Zappe in the fourth round this year. Based on what we saw on Monday night, neither guy looked like the kind of player you rest your hat on. Depending on the level of player from one or both of them, the Patriots could be looking to select a quarterback for the third consecutive draft.