New England Patriots Trade Rumors: RB on wishlist
The New England Patriots are thin at the running back position following the season-ending injury to feature back Stevan Ridley, and they have to hope that one of Brandon Bolden, Jonas Gray, or Wisconsin rookie James White breaks out, because Shane Vereen can’t shoulder the load on his own. Vereen is the team’s most talented rusher remaining, but the Patriots have to manage him and optimize his snaps, since he has an injury history and probably can’t hold up under the weight of a workhorse-amount of touches. Plus, his biggest asset to the team is as a pass-catcher, as he is one of the best running backs in the league at making plays in the passing game (I’d put him second behind Darren Sproles, but that’s just off the top of my head).
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Per a league source close to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the Patriots are unsurprisingly looking to swing a deal for a running back at the trade deadline this year, and it will be interesting to see if any big-name players emerge as potential trade targets. As we’ve seen with the Aqib Talib trade two years ago and the Logan Mankins deal this offseason (as well as numerous big trades in the past involving the likes of Randy Moss and Wes Welker), Bill Belichick is always willing to open up “Trader Bill’s”.
Vincent Jackson is another target for the Patriots this season, but adding a running back seems to be a bigger priority for the Pats than adding a marquee wide receiver, as a lack of a rushing attack would really hurt the offense as the season moves on.