Insider Says to Keep Eye on Patriots Trading for Future Hall of Famer image
Insider Says to Keep Eye on Patriots Trading for Future Hall of Famer image
The NFL's Week 7 gave us a better understanding of what teams are going to do at this year's trade deadline, with the New England Patriots having to look at multiple teams that could be making deals.
One of them is the Indianapolis Colts, who sit at 2-5. The Colts have been one of the tougher teams in the NFL to evaluate over the past 12-plus months, though they seem to just be an average team at this point.
The Colts had a chance to save their season, so to say, in Week 6 against the Tennessee Titans, but allowed Tennessee to win its first game of the season, 26-20.
Perhaps the Colts will wait until Week 8 to play the Jacksonville Jaguars, since taking on the first-place team in their division could help them better understand where they stand. They sit in second place, while the Jaguars are 4-2.
But if they decide to move on from guys, the Patriots could be interested in multiple players. The most interesting is Quenton Nelson, the eight-time Pro Bowl left guard and three-time First-Team All-Pro who has been in Indianapolis for his entire nine-year career.
According to Albert Breer, he's one of the more interesting players available at this year's deadline, and he recently said the Patriots could be interested.
"The Colts are the really interesting one because they just fired their general manager, Chris Ballard. Now, how that goes is going to be determined by ownership. We saw last year when the Dolphins fired Chris Grier, almost immediately they traded Jaelan Phillips. Could that happen here if things don't go well for the [2-4] Colts on Sunday [at Minnesota]? I certainly think that's in play, and they've got some older players that you could really look at. DeForest Buckner is one.
“Another one certainly would be Jonathan Taylor, Cam Bynum, and then one I'd just kind of keep an eye on for the Patriots because they do have the injury issues at guard right now, Quenton Nelson. Obviously a multi-time All-Pro, perhaps a future Hall of Famer. If he becomes available and the Patriots' injury situation doesn't get better at guard, maybe that's somebody that you could look at,” Breer said, per NBCS Boston.
Beefing up the offensive line is always a wise move for a team like New England, so it wouldn't be surprising to see them go that way.
The Patriots obviously have to consider what they want to give up in trade assets, as Nelson likely won't be cheap. Still, he's a difference-maker and somebody who would be welcomed in New England.
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