One of the greatest feelings in sports is not just when a fan’s favorite team is succeeding, but also when a rival is heavily struggling. For many seasons, the New England Patriots had both of those feelings by not only seeing their own success but also causing misery to the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, and Miami Dolphins. In their nearly two decade ruling of the AFC East, the Patriots established themselves as the greatest dynasty in the NFL that was led by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Now that the misery is over, it is time for the Patriots to work their way up from the ground. Once Brady left the Patriots in the 2020 offseason, the organization in New England was going to be going downhill as they tried with Cam Newton and Mac Jones at quarterback, but both players ultimately failed which contributed to the overall failure of the Patriots.
For the first time in a long time, the Patriots are rebuilding. Hearing the words “Patriots” and “rebuilding” is quite weird. However, the rest of the AFC East is happy to hear that. As the Patriots started to fall, the Bills have taken control of the division the last four seasons while New England is trying to build themselves back up.
With a new era in Foxboro with Jerod Mayo, the Patriots have a ton of questions instead of answers. That is typical for any rebuilding team. With Drake Maye looking to come in and save the Patriots, the Bills will take on yet another young quarterback who has a ton of talent but also has a lot of development within his game. Even though the Patriots can look forward to moving past the Mac Jones era, New England is going to have to take their time rebuilding as they have older players who have not lived up to their expectations.
Alex Ballentine from Bleacher Report released a piece on NFL teams who could be sellers by the time the trade deadline rolls around. The Patriots were put on this list, even though they have begun their rebuild already. It looks like Ballentine thinks that the Patriots are not done selling their stock to acquire future picks.
Will the Patriots be sellers next season?
Ballentine discussed how the Patriots have way too many unanswered questions across the roster. As a matter of fact, three current Patriots were listed as potential trade candidates which includes DE Matthew Judon, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, and DT Davon Godchaux.
The only player that has a chance at staying with the Patriots for the whole 2024 season is Judon because of how he can bring a big pass rush. However, Judon is coming off a season-ending bicep injury and the Patriots can save $6.7 million if they trade Judon according to Ballentine.
Should the Patriots become sellers next season, this will be great news for Bills fans as they will have the opportunity to watch the Patriots fail once again. The Bills and Patriots will face off against each other twice in the last three weeks of the season so we will know where the Patriots stand at that point.