The 2-6 Patriots aren’t exactly poised to contend this season. 

That sentiment was validated on Monday afternoon after New England traded pass-rusher Joshua Uche to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2026 sixth-round pick. 

But could Eliot Wolf and the Patriots actually look to bolster their roster ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline on Nov. 5? 

Longtime NFL insider Josina Anderson signaled on Tuesday that New England might be toeing the line between “buyer” and “seller” status. 

“I’m told the Patriots are monitoring the trade market to potentially add talent at WR, DT or T positions on the heels of the rousing 25-22 win of the NY #Jets, per source,” Anderson posted on X Tuesday. 

There’s a compelling case to made for New England to look for upgrades in all three areas of the roster at wide receiver, defensive tackle, and offensive tackle.

New England’s wideouts had an underwhelming performance against the Jets on Sunday, with the team knocked for five total drops. Even though Kayshon Boutte rebounded with a few clutch catches in the fourth quarter, the Patriots are still woefully short on playmakers this season.

While New England’s need to bolster their offensive line is rather evident, the Patriots’ most pressing concern might be their run defense. Even with a rebound performance from New England’s defense against the Jets, the Patriots have still relinquished over 140 rushing yards in four of their last five games.

Considering some of the bargain-bin deals that have already been struck (Carolina dealt WR Diontae Johnson and a sixth-round pick to Baltimore for a fifth-round pick), New England could be looking to take advantage of a buyer’s market. 

But given the uphill climb that the Patriots still face on a rebuilding roster, Wolf and his staff might have to be selective when it comes to both perusing the market and dealing off players already on their roster. 

“They’re open for business and they’ll listen on anything,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said on NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots Pregame Live on Sunday. “I think the ones you want to look at are players who might be on second contracts and deeper into their careers where it’s a little hard to see those guys being major pieces of the puzzle two or three years down the line when the program is where they would hope it would be.”

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Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

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