Do the New England Patriots have another surprise move in them ahead of next week's NFL trade deadline?
The Patriots already acquired wide receiver Mohamed Sanu and dealt defensive end Michael Bennett to the Dallas Cowboys. But in his trade deadline preview Thursday, the MMQB's Albert Breer listed two rather surprising Patriots players who may draw interest from other NFL teams.
From Breer:
One rival team’s pro director wondered aloud about teams calling on Philip Dorsett. Presumably, New England’s de facto release of Josh Gordon ... takes care of that. But it does raise the possibility that New England could dip into its roster depth to fill a hole somewhere else in its lineup (like, potentially, along the offensive line.)
It seems unlikely the Patriots would trade Dorsett, who's been one of the few constants at a wide receiver position with plenty of turnover. The 26-year-old is New England's fourth-leading receiver this season with 18 catches and has developed a good rapport with quarterback Tom Brady.
Breer also mentioned a second potential trade piece that's even more of an eye-opener: tight end Ryan Izzo.
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Young tight end Ryan Izzo, surprisingly enough, is one name that came up as possible trade fodder on Wednesday.
The Patriots are incredibly thin at tight end, as injuries to Izzo and Matt LaCosse left Ben Watson and Eric Tomlinson as the team's only two healthy tight ends in Week 7.
Izzo is set to miss his second consecutive game due to a concussion, though, and if the Patriots don't believe he can be an effective contributor going forward, they may consider moving him to shore up depth in another area.
Breer mentioned offensive line as an area where New England could use help with starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn still on injured reserve. Per Breer, Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai may be on the trade market and is a name to watch.
The Patriots dealing Dorsett or Izzo before Tuesday's deadline would be unexpected, but head coach Bill Belichick has made more unconventional deadline moves.
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