New England Patriots acquire Greg Salas from St. Louis Rams

St. Louis Rams wide receiver Greg Salas was locked in a big position battle and has now been traded to the New England Patriots, who now have five wide receivers on the roster again after surprisingly releasing Deion Branch. This trade sheds some light on that decision, as the Pats also previously released Jabar Gaffney and Donte’ Stallworth, thus making Branch looking like the guy going forward. Gaffney and Branch are interested in re-signing with the team later on, but there is clearly only room for one of them after this trade.

According to Adam Schefter, the Patriots have traded a late-round draft pick in the 2013 NFL Draft for Greg Salas. He moved from the slot  position to the outside this offseason and has been playing well this offseason by making a seamless transition to the outside for the Rams. In fact, the 2011 fourth-round pick out of Hawaii has been better on the outside than in the slot.

You see, this is the genius of the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick. They traded a late round pick for a fourth-rounder at a position of need. Salas has upside and the Pats have likely “moved up” two rounds on the imaginary draft trade value totem pole with this deal, thus showing how overvalued draft picks have become in trades. Salas, by the way, is a free agent in 2015 and is dirt cheap with his most expensive year being $645,000 in 2014 ($465,000 this upcoming season).

This was definitely a great trade for the Pats, and I’m excited to see what offensive guru Josh McDaniels can do with Salas. He has to like the Hawaii product, seeing as he was the St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator last season; I bet he sees something he really likes in Salas. There is definitely upside to be had here, and it is an extremely low-risk deal for a quality player who has been lighting it up for St. Louis this offseason. Seriously, the Pats got a steal here; this guy has some serious potential.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.