Patriots: NE adds secondary help in trade with Lions

The Patriots completed a trade with the Lions on Sunday.

Have no fear, Patriots fans. The organization has finally showed an incentive to upgrade its decimated defense. Ironically enough, the roster move came via a trade.

Per ESPN insider Adam Schefter, the Patriots acquired cornerback Michael Jackson from the Detroit Lions in exchange for an undisclosed 2022 draft pick. As of this writing, it’s unclear if that selection comes with conditions, so stay tuned for updates.

This deal obviously doesn’t move the needle, but fans can take solace in the fact that it provides some much needed depth behind projected starters Stephon Gilmore and Jason McCourty.

Out of nowhere! Any time you can deal an undisclosed selection several years from now, you simply have to do it.

Jackson entered the NFL as a fifth-round selection of the Dallas Cowboys last year, but failed to make it beyond the practice squad and ended up signing with the Detroit Lions’ 53-man roster. There unfortunately wasn’t much information provided by the 23-year-old’s rookie season, as he appeared in just one game for Detroit and didn’t log any statistics.

Our guess is that Jackson, who played college ball with the Miami Hurricanes, will compete with the rest of New England’s cornerbacks —  Jonathan Jones, Justin Bethel, JC Jackson and Joejuan Williams — for a backup role. Essentially, the Pats are getting a 2019 draft pick with potential for absolutely nothing. Can’t knock it.

There’s nothing head coach Bill Belichick loves more than active competition during training camp, and this trade confirms that the Patriots will have plenty of it in the secondary.

With that being said, expect the de facto general manager to keep busy on the transaction front, as he still needs to find replacements for the eight players who opted out due to concerns regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

Nothing like a mid-Sunday trade to get the juices flowing! Give us more moves, please and thank you.