The Patriots are 1-5.
I repeat, the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, commanded by owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick, are 1-5.
Heading into this season, after a modest 2022 where they put up an 8-9 record and were one game shy of a postseason berth, there was hope that this Patriots team could make some noise after they decided to bring in coordinator Bill O’Brien to command the offense and help a struggling Mac Jones.
6 rings: While it looked better, it got worse as the Patriots fall again
Unfortunately, things have somehow gotten worse. Just six weeks in, the season is likely already a lost one and Kraft’s vaunted postseason berth has all but perished. The last team to rally from a 1-5 hole and qualify for the playoffs was the 2018 Indianapolis Colts. Before that? Just two other teams in the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals and the 2015 Kansas City Chiefs were able right said ship.
Impossible for New England? No. Highly unlikely? Heck yes.
So now what do we do? Well, not all is lost in this 2023 Patriots season. So as I tend to do, I’m going to try and take the positive route here and give you a few things to look forward to as this painful campaign rolls on:
The trade deadline
The NFL’s trade deadline is fast approaching, with all deals needing to be completed by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, October 31st.
This means the Patriots have the next two games to decide if they want to be buyers or sellers and, with contests coming up against the Buffalo Bills (4-2) and the Miami Dolphins (5-1), it's looking more likely that they'll wind up 1-7 rather than 3-5. Sellers.
One of the positives of “selling” at the deadline is that you can ship out players in the final year of their current deals that you don't plan on extending or re-signing in the offseason. For New England, some notable players in a contract include:
TE Hunter Henry
WR Kendrick Bourne
S Kyle Dugger
OT Trent Brown
LB Josh Uche
OL Mike Onwenu
TE Mike Gesicki
Kendrick Bourne, for example, is having a solid year on offense and may not want to be a part of the rebuilding Patriots. If he's just going to walk at season's end, then it may be worth dangling him on the trade market to see what you can get back.
The one problem New England may have with selling is: who’s the one deciding if they’ll re-sign players like Onwenu, Dugger, or Uche this offseason? If the plan is, in fact, to part ways with Bill Belichick after this season, then it wouldn’t make sense for him to be the one making the decisions.
If they want to keep someone like director of player personnel Matt Groh in Foxborough for the rebuild, however, then he’s someone they could work with internally to spearhead these decisions.
Buyers, sellers, or stagnant, Halloween’s trade deadline bodes watching for the Patriots.
The NFL Draft
If the season were to end today, the Patriots would hold the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft according to Tankathon:
Though they’re currently tied for the second-worst record in the league, various tiebreakers are what push them to No. 6.
There are, obviously, still 11 games left this season so a lot can be done to improve on their 1-5 record, but as of right it's looking more likely that they'll have a top-five pick rather than
My suggestion from now until April? Not only get familiar with some NFL Draft resources such as NFL Mock Draft Database and Tankathon for an idea of where, and who, the Patriots could select, but also cozy up on your couches on Saturdays starting at noon and watch some of the top college football prospects. There's a good chance some of them end up in Foxborough.
Opportunities for young players
Despite losing promising rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez to a torn shoulder labrum in Week 4, the Patriots have some young talent on their roster that both warrant attention the rest of the season and can be a focus of the team to build around beyond 2023.
One specific player to keep eyes on is quarterback/wide receiver Malik Cunningham.
After he went undrafted in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Patriots signed Cunningham this April to a contract that included $200,000 in guaranteed money, the most the team had ever doled out to a UDFA. After a promising preseason, he was waived on August 29 and then re-signed to the practice squad a day later. Last Saturday, prior to their contest against the Raiders, New England signed Cunningham to their active roster on a three-year deal.
The team could have used a standard, game-day practice squad elevation for Cunningham. The fact that they didn't tells me they have greater plans for him moving forward. Ones that expand beyond the three games allotted to a practice squad player.
Other hopeful youngsters on the Patriots' roster include rookie wide receivers Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte, defenders Keion White and Marte Mapu, and developmental linemen Jake Andrews, Atonio Mafi, and Sidy Sow.
All will likely see increased run down the stretch of this, especially if the Patriots do end up being sellers at the deadline. It'll be interesting to find out who is, and isn't, worth building around moving forward.
A fresh start
“I think Bill Belichick is considering it,” former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said of the idea that the head coach moving on from New England on ESPN’s Get Up on Monday. “And I also think Robert Kraft is the one that has to start to consider ‘is it time to move on?’” Because right now, if they get a top-five pick, Mr. Kraft has to decide if Bill is the right one to take one of those three, four, quarterbacks, whatever it may be, that you can possibly get, and if he wants to start over with Bill.”
As hard as it can be, sometimes it’s just time to move on, and like it or not, there's a real chance we get some wholesale changes in the football operation at One Patriot Place this coming offseason.
Instead of being shocked when it happens, the next four months can instead be a time for both preparing for and embracing the fresh start that's likely coming in 2024.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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