Copyright Heavy.
It was always a longshot that the Patriots would make a major move on Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, because the fact is, this team’s roster needs depth and the powers-that-be making decisions about the roster want to fill those depth spots with draftees, not with short-term rental players. Still, at 7-2 and with the Jets in the midst of a fire sale, hopes were widely raised on Tuesday afternoon about a possible deal of New York star running back Breece Hall. With the Patriots badly in need of running back help thanks to a season-ending injury to Antonio Gibson and a persistent toe injury to Rhamondre Stevenson, there was plenty of hope that Hall could land in New England. And then there was a Hall post on social media, following the 1-7 Jets’ white-flag trades of stars Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner. Hall posted a film GIF, following up on a post he made days ago about a potential trade. Hall, a former second-round pick, has 581 yards on 117 carries this season, an average of 5.0 yard per carry, but is heading into free agency this offseason. Patriots Trade Deadline: Price Too High for Breece Hall? Again, it was always going to be tough for the patriots to pull off a major trade at the deadline, not with the prices that were being asked for most players, and not with the team’s adherence to its long-term building strategy. Diana Russini of The Athletic reported on Tuesday that the price for Hall was a third-round pick. That’s pretty rich for what the Patriots want to spend on a running back, considering they used a second-rounder on TreVeyon Henderson last April. Running Back Already Crowded for Patriots Complicating the chase for a running back is the fact that the Patriots have Henderson as a future piece and Stevenson is signed on a four-year, $36 million contract. The Patriots might be willing to give up a pick for Hall if they could sign him long-term, but with the running-back room already pretty well occupied, that wouldn’t make much sense. Just this week, James Palmer, who is half of the “Scoop City” podcast with Russini of The Athletic. appeared on the NBC Sports podcast, “Next Pats” with Phil Perry, and Palmer said that while the Patriots are expected to be buyers if presented with the right opportunity at the deadline, they’re only going to buy and hold. Said Palmer: “I do think they’re going, ‘OK, maybe we’ve exceeded expectations quicker than we assumed … but we don’t want to rent anybody. Anybody we’re bringing in, we’d like to make sure they’re an impact player maybe for us in 2026 as well or perhaps past that. I think that might be what they’re looking at.” Hall would be a sure-bet upgrade at running back. But the Patriots would not likely sign him long-term, making him an awkward fit on the New England roster.
