Patriots trade rumors from The Athletic give insight into New England's deadline plans

Patriots trade rumors from The Athletic give insight into New England's deadline plans originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

There has been rumors and speculation about what the New England Patriots might do ahead of the Nov. 4 trade deadline and The Athletic's Dianna Russini is just the latest to chime in.

The expectation has been that the Pats are going to target a running back trade, which ESPN's Jeremy Fowler has reported.

It makes sense given the fact that the Pats are missing Antonio Gibson for the rest of the season and Rhamondre Stevenson can't hold on to the football and the team clearly doesn't trust TreVeyon Henderson yet.

However, Russini doesn't believe the Pats are in the market for a running back based on what she is hearing.

"I don't think they make a move (at running back)," Russini said on the Next Pats podcast. "Teams I've talked to who I know are trying to move their running backs have not received calls from New England."

"That could change, of course," she said. "But I think they would have been ahead on this. I think if they felt the way fans felt about the running back play, (they would have made calls)."

There has been plenty of speculation about the Philadelphia Eagles trading A.J. Brown because of the clear dysfunction over there in Philly.

That might be a trade the Patriots are interested in given the fact they could use more help at wide receiver, and more specifically a true No. 1 like Brown.

While Russini believes the Pats would call the Eagles about a trade for Brown, she does not expect Philly to move their top wideout.

"I can tell you Philadelphia is telling teams they are not moving him," Russini said of Brown. "They're not. Because teams have called."

"We've got to see how this goes, but I can tell you, New England has got to keep their eye on it," she said of New England and a potential Brown trade. "They're going to call just to see, because you don't know."

Instead of focusing on running back or wide receiver like many believe the Pats might, Russini thinks cornerback and edge rusher are where New England will ultimately make a move.

"To me, it's defense," she said. "If New England's going to be picking up the phone and making a move, it would be on the defensive side of the ball. "Unfortunately pass-rushers and corners, the supply and demand, every team is calling on that."

The Pats have been a middle-of-the-road unit when it comes to taking down the quarterback, with the team sporting 13 sacks through six games. That needs to improve if New England is going to unseat Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.

New England is already in good shape at cornerback with starters Carlton Davis and Christian Gonzalez, so we wouldn't envision a big move there, if any at all.

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