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The Patriots worked the phones in the weeks leading up to the NFL trade deadline, and reportedly made a pair of trade proposals, but ultimately never got close to adding before the buzzer. "They weren't very close," Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer said on Patriots Pregame Live ahead of New England's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "They were looking at two positions, I'd say, over the last couple of months, maybe three if you want to go back a few weeks ago." The Patriots looked at wide receivers early on, but as the deadline neared the group turned it's focus to running back and edge rusher. Adding a pass-rusher, Breer said, was their main focus and they made a pair of offers for players at the position. "They inquired with the Vikings about Jordan Addison. They inquired with the Saints about Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed," said Breer, referencing three wide receivers. "... They talked to Seattle about (linebacker) Boye Mafe, made an offer there. They made an offer to Tennessee for (defensive end) Dre'Mont Jones. Ultimately, nothing really worked out." Breer said New England's offers, at least the ones he heard about, included pick-swaps. The Patriots were willing to trade a higher pick for a player and a lower pick, but weren't willing to siphon their draft capital. "I think that's important to point out here, because it informs you where the Patriots are," Breer said. "Their number of draft picks are important to them. They're either going to have 10 or 11, depending on how much Keion White plays in San Francisco. Having that amount of capital, that volume of capital, will allow them not just to move around to the board this year but maybe trade for a veteran in the offseason. Or move picks into 202. That's how a lot of the best teams operate. "It's not a bad place to be to have that volume of picks," he continued. "So even if they were going to send picks out, they were going to be looking for picks coming back with a player in any sort of deal they did." When asked about the flurry of reports stating the Titans weren't willing to make trades with Mike Vrabel's team due to the previous breakup, Breer said, from his understanding, that wasn't the case. The Titans simply got a better offer from the Ravens and sent Jones to Baltimore, Breer said.
