It’s been nearly a decade since the New England Patriots fleeced the Detroit Lions by acquiring Kyle Van Noy. Now, ESPN is floating a trade that would return the favor.
On Monday, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell proposed a series of trades across the league that made sense. Among the 10 proposals was a deal that would send linebacker Anfernee Jennings to the Lions in exchange for a meager return.
Barnwell suggested that New England could send Jennings and a seventh-round pick to Detroit in exchange for a sixth-round pick. In terms of draft capital, moving up from a seventh-rounder to a sixth-rounder is pennies. But it is a minor improvement over cutting the player outright.
It just so happens to be the same price the Patriots paid when they acquired Van Noy in 2016.
At the time, Van Noy was a former second-round pick that didn’t fit into the Lions’ scheme. He went on to be a key defender in New England and a two-time Super Bowl champ.
Barnwell suggests that Jennings could have a similar breakout if dealt from New England, where he appears to be miscast in the team’s defensive scheme under Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams.
“There was a time when New England once looted the Lions for a talented, two-way linebacker who didn’t fit their system and landed an underrated player in Kyle Van Noy,” Barnwell wrote. “The Lions are here to get their revenge.”
Jennings is one of two notable Patriots veterans whose names have been floated in trade rumors, the other being safety Kyle Dugger.
Both players were big parts of the defense in the past two seasons. But under Vrabel in 2025, they haven’t quite fit in to the current defense. It’s been surprising to see both veterans playing extended snaps late into preseason games and has called their status on the roster into question.
It’s quite possible that both Jennings and Dugger could make the 53-man roster this week. But as things stand, the Patriots have the option to make a deal to get something in return for a player whose role has diminished in New England.
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