Tradeable Patriots: Kendrick Bourne, Josh Uche ... and Mac Jones?

BOSTON -- In the old days around here, we'd be spending this time of year mapping out how the Patriots were going to get the No. 1 seed in the AFC while reminding ourselves where the Super Bowl was being played at the end of the season. It was fun.

In the more recent past, we'd be figuring out a way for the Patriots to salvage a .500 or better season, with the possibility of sneaking into a playoff spot being somewhat on the table. It was less exciting.

Now, we're bottoming it out. In the middle of October, it's over. Unceremoniously and unforgivingly over. The Patriots are 1-5, an inch or two away from being 0-6. It's rock bottom, and it's not very fun. Instead of picking out the winnable games remaining on the schedule, we're looking at the draft order and wondering if there's an exit strategy for Bill Belichick. 

And while it used to be fun to lay out the matchups from the next game on the schedule, we can't quite do that with the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills right now. So instead, we can take a look at the Patriots' roster and see which players might make sense -- and which players wouldn't make sense -- to potentially trade away in order to add draft capital before the deadline on Oct. 31.

Patriots Who Can't Be Traded

WRs JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker

While Patriots fans would be happy to see the team move on from these two receivers, it's not going to happen. For one, no team would want them, as they've combined for 27 catches, 222 yards, and zero touchdowns in 10 combined games. That's a combined average of 2.7 receptions and 22.2 yards per game from two guys making a lot of money.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, there is no getting out of these contracts, as Parker will count for over $6 million in dead money if he's cut next spring, while Smith-Schuster's dead money charge would be over $12 million.

Patriots Who Could Be Traded, But Probably Won't

QB Mac Jones

Nobody had more riding on the 2023 season than Mac Jones. And while the circumstances around him -- notably at receiver and on the offensive line -- are downright awful, the fact is that the NFL remains a production business. And Mac Jones isn't producing anything positive this year.

Still, there may be a believer or two still out there in the league. And if a quarterback goes down to injury or is out long-term -- we saw Trevor Lawrence, Ryan Tannehill, Jimmy Garoppolo and Justin Fields get hurt this past weekend, while Anthony Richardson, Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones remain out for their teams -- then the Patriots could field a call or two on Mac Jones.

While Jones' performance (19 touchdowns and 18 interceptions with an 81.6 rating over his last 20 starts) wouldn't carry much value, his contract sure does. Jones is making just over $2 million in base salary this year with another couple million tied up in bonuses, counting just $4.25 million against the cap. And he's under contract for next season with a cap hit under $5 million.

The one spot that makes the most sense is Las Vegas, as Garoppolo has always struggled to stay healthy, and Josh McDaniels is the one coach who seemed capable of getting the most out of Jones in the NFL. The Raiders might be able to pull off a win with Brian Hoyer at quarterback against a bad Patriots team, but that won't be the norm.

Yet in-season quarterback trades are exceedingly rare, as it's a bit insane to believe a quarterback can learn a new playbook in a matter of days and lead an entire offense in short order. But Baker Mayfield kind of did that last year, leading the Rams to a win just days after being claimed off waivers. So it remains possible for a team to make this move, albeit unlikely.

Patriots Who Probably Should Be Traded

WR Kendrick Bourne

Kendrick Bourne just might be too good for this team. During Sunday's loss in Las Vegas, he was essentially the entirety of the passing game. He caught 10 passes (on 11 targets) for 89 yards.The rest of the team -- eight other players were targeted -- caught 14 passes for 111 yards. No individual had more than 28 receiving yards.

And, because the Patriots aren't very good, it was all for naught.

Bourne remains miscast as a top wideout, but a team with a solid receiver or two atop the depth chart could look at Bourne as a season-shifting type of pickup ahead of the deadline. His ability to thrive out of the slot in addition to being a capable outside receiver should boost his value, too. (The fact that he never publicly melted down last year while being trapped in Matt Patricia jail should alert other teams that he should be a positive addition to the locker room, as well.)

Chase Claypool netted the Steelers a second-round pick before last year's deadline, when Claypool had 32 receptions for 311 yards and one touchdown on the season. Kadarius Toney, who had just two receptions on the season, netted the Giants a third-round and sixth-round pick. And Robbie Chosen -- then Robbie Anderson -- got Carolina a sixth-round and seventh-round draft pick, after he had just 13 receptions for 206 yards and one touchdown on the year.

Realistically, Bourne could get the Patriots a second-round pick at best, with a third-round pick being a reasonable expectation. With this season going nowhere and with Bourne heading toward free agency, the Patriots have no real reason to keep him.

EDGE Josh Uche

With 12 sacks, the Patriots are tied for having the sixth-fewest in the NFL. Losing Matthew Judon can have that effect. Sub-rusher Josh Uche has felt that effect, as he's yet to get to the quarterback since losing his teammate to injury.

Still, an impending UFA, Uche could appeal to a team looking to add a pass-rushing element before the deadline.

The 25-year-old popped last year with 11.5 sacks, tied for 12th-most in the NFL. Considering Uche was only on the field for a third of the Patriots' defensive snaps, that was a mighty impressive output.

Given his limited role, questionable production with Judon, and a new foot injury that popped up on Sunday, he won't net a huge return. But for a Patriots team that is going to need draft picks, he would make sense as an option.

RB Ezekiel Elliott

When the veteran running back inked a midsummer contract with the Patriots, he likely didn't have this in mind. He's had exactly one game with heavy usage, when he had 16 carries for 80 yards against the Jets in Week 3. Outside of that, he's averaged 6.6 rushing attempts for 22.6 yards per game. Splitting time with Rhamondre Stevenson and playing behind a broken offensive line has not been kind to his stats.

But Elliott showed on Sunday that he's got some spring in his step left, as he broke off a 74-yard catch-and-run ... that came back due to a holding penalty.

That would have been the longest reception of his career since his rookie season in 2016, if it had counted.

And while running back value is down across the league, Elliott has put some positives on tape that could make him a valuable add for a team in need at the position. He won't be able to fill in for Christian McCaffrey, no, but perhaps teams like the Browns or Chargers or Commanders or someone else might be willing to part with a fifth-round pick to add him to their backfield.

Elliott's playing on a one-year, $3 million deal, so he'd come cheap to any team that adds him.

Pending UFAs Who Probably Shouldn't Be Traded

TE Hunter Henry

Hunter Henry is the rare Patriots offensive player who could start on a lot of teams around the league. Yet the team likely won't be willing to send him away in order to add some draft capital. 

While planning for the future remains a significant need for a franchise with a thin cupboard, there is still the matter of fielding a football team every weekend for the next three months. And doing that without Henry would be an extreme challenge.

Henry is a team captain who leads all non-linemen and QBs in offensive snap counts this season. Only Mike Gesicki and Pharaoh Brown are behind him on the depth chart, so it would be a bit of malpractice to remove Henry from the offense in the name of future picks.

S Kyle Dugger

The fourth-year safety is someone most teams would want in their secondary. But the Patriots should be one of those teams moving forward.

After being the most surprising pick in the 2020 draft out of a school none of us had ever heard of in our entire lives, Dugger has established himself as a bona fide NFL player. He'll be 28 in March, when he's due for his second contract. But the Patriots should be the ones giving him that money. Trading him away might net a mid-round pick, but it would negate a true gem of a draft pick for the organization, and it would remove a potential locker room leader for the next four or five years.

Other Considerations

For all intents and purposes, tackle Trent Brown is going to be a free agent, as his contract voids at the end of the year. His play has been up and down, but offensive tackles are always in demand around the league, so he'd certainly have some value out there. Still, removing him from a line that has zero other NFL-caliber tackles would make it hard for the Patriots to field a team every weekend this season. ... Defensive back Jalen Mills is obviously unhappy with his playing time, and he only got 20 snaps after complaining about getting 10 snaps the week before. He'd be unlikely to fetch much, but he still could have a market for defensive back-needy teams. ... Speaking of underused defensive backs, Adrian Phillips has become something of a ghost on this team, unable to get on the field behind Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers. The Patriots not long ago loved Phillips, but he's taken just 19.6 percent of the team's defensive snaps this season. A reliable safety like Phillips with a year left on his deal would seemingly have a market, even if the sale price would be low.

The Unknown

Bill Belichick's Mindset

Here's the thing with all of this: We've never seen Bill Belichick operate under these conditions, so we don't know what his strategy might be. 

The bigger thing we don't know? Belichick's long-term job status. If he's running this operation for the next several years, then we can safely assume he'd like to have all of those draft picks for future roster construction. But if he's coaching for his job? Or if he's trying to stack as many wins as possible before the season ends in January? Then he would not be motivated to move any player off his roster.

That much, we just don't know. But we do know that if there are moves to be made to better position the franchise for future seasons, there are certainly a number of viable candidates.