After five weeks of football, it’s pretty obvious the New England Patriots could use some help at the wide receiver position.
Bill Belichick’s team isn’t desperate for help on the outside because of Cam Newton’s impact, but the need is still there. Through four games, the second-best receiver has been Damiere Byrd, with N’Keal Harry trailing for a close third. Julian Edelman’s numbers are inflated, considering the fact that more than half of his yards came from one game.
Newton’s ability to rush, along with the team’s ability to pound the ball has opened up opportunities for receivers and keeps the offense more unpredictable than a pocket quarterback could. But, at the end of the day, the Patriots could still use some help.
Options are slim with free agents, but A.J. Green is a name that could realistically find himself in New England. The Patriots should pursue a trade with the unhappy 32-year-old veteran.
Though this isn’t a clear depiction of what Green is saying, he appears to say “just trade me” in this clip during his matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5.
I’m not a professional lip reader but does he say “just trade me” at the end of this? #Bengals pic.twitter.com/Yh6jxSmx1J
— Kyle Smith (@Kyle_Smith1087) October 11, 2020
Green has played all five games this season after spending last season on the injured reserve list. He went from a prolific superstar to the guy with the fifth-most receiving yards on the team through five games. Tyler Boyd is emerging as the star receiver and Tee Higgins is gaining love from the first overall pick, Joe Burrow.
Green has 14 receptions, 119 yards and zero touchdowns on 34 targets thus far. Despite the fact he’s overcoming a lingering ankle injury, Green still has potential to make plays for the Patriots. In any season he’s played 13 games or more, Green hasn’t recorded less than 1,000 receiving yards. He’d become an immediate redzone threat and at the very least, he’d be a distraction to open up the offense.
The issue comes financially, because Green was franchise-tagged and is owed $18 million this season. If Belichick is going to sign an aging player who had star status in the league, he’s typically going to try and do it on a veteran minimum contract. Given this information, it’d be tough to see Belichick pull the trigger — especially after Mohamed Sanu.
The trade deadline is on Nov. 3 time will tell if the Patriots actually make the move to collect the star wide out. Belichick’s done crazier things before, and this could just change the completion of the offense.
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