Two days before the NFL trade deadline, the New England Patriots seemingly tipped their hand. Wide receivers K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton, who have both been speculated as trade candidates, have been classified as healthy scratches for the team’s Week 9 contest against the Tennessee Titans.

Both Osborn and Thornton have found themselves sliding down the depth chart over the course of the season. Both started the year as starter-caliber options at the Z- and X-receiver spots, respectively, but have since been overtaken on the depth chart by other players at the position — sparking speculation as to whether they might become available for trade.

Based on their game statuses on Sunday, that might very well be the case. Just last week, after all, New England made outside linebacker Joshua Uche a healthy scratch against the New York Jets. One day later, he was sent to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Time will tell whether or not Osborn and Thornton will follow him on the road out of town. Even if they do not get moved ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, however, their longer-term future with the organization seems to be in question.

The rest of the Patriots’ inactives look as follows:

Patriots inactives

• S Kyle Dugger
• DT Eric Johnson
• QB Joe Milton III (emergency QB)
• WR K.J. Osborn
• WR Tyquan Thornton

After removing quarterback Drake Maye from the injury report on Saturday, the Patriots had seven players remaining as questionable heading into the game against the Titans. Of those, one has not been cleared to participate: Kyle Dugger, who has been mentioned as a trade candidate himself, will miss a second straight game with an ankle injury.

He is joining four healthy scratches on the inactives list, including K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton. The other two players in that category are third-string QB Joe Milton and backup defensive tackle Eric Johnson.

This also means that five players will dress for the game despite being labeled questionable heading into the weekend. Offensive linemen Vederian Lowe (ankle, shoulder) and Michael Jordan (ankle), defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy (neck), and linebackers Christian Elliss (abdomen) and Sione Takitaki (knee) have all been given the green light in time.

The seventh and final player not accounted for is cornerback Alex Austin (ankle). While he was back at practice this week to start the clock to return from injured reserve, he was not activated to the 53-man roster in time (which is also why he is not listed on the inactives list).

Meanwhile, wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk will make his return. The second-round rookie missed last week’s game against the Jets with a concussion.

Titans inactives

• CB Tre Avery
• LB Cedric Gary
• QB Will Levis
• TE David Martin-Robinson
• OL Dillon Radunz
• CB L’Jarius Sneed
• RB Tyjae Spears

The biggest names on Tennessee’s list of inactives are quarterback Will Levis (right shoulder) and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (quad). The former was ruled out on Sunday, meaning that Mason Rudolph will again start at quarterback; Sneed, meanwhile, was already scratched on Friday.

Kickoff between the Patriots and Titans at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium is set for 1 p.m. ET. New England is entering the game as 3-point underdogs, according to the latest odds provided by FanDuel.