RUMOR: Should the Patriots still trade for former No.2 overall draft pick?
New England Patriots HC Bill Belichick is dealing with a QB situation at the moment. Patriots starting QB Mac Jones suffered a high ankle sprain three weeks ago against the Baltimore Ravens. However, in the last two weeks the rookie QB Bailey Zappe has looked exceptional.
He managed to help take the game on the road at Lambeau Field into overtime after veteran QB Brian Hoyer suffered a concussion. He then followed that up by helping contribute to a shutout against the Detroit Lions. Zappe recorded 188 passing yards, completing over 80% of his passes, and throwing a touchdown along with an interception, according to ESPN.
Why did Patriots almost trade for Mitchell Trubisky?
At this point, many believe if Zappe can manage to rattle off a few more wins in this seven-game stretch there may be a QB controversy beginning to brew. In the meantime, the Patriots had to address their lack of depth at the position, therefore, they signed veteran QB Garrett Gilbert to their practice squad last week.
Prior to Zappe stepping up and shocking everyone, the Patriots may have flirted with the idea of possibly trading for former No.2 overall draft pick, reported Jason La Canfora for The Washington Post. There’s no secret that the Steelers are struggling this year and beginning to rebuild, therefore, making Steelers QB Mitchell Trubisky accessible.
It seemed as if the stars were aligning for the Patriots for a short period of time. Essentially, Mac Jones goes down, and then Trubisky becomes available. However, Zappe’s production is simply improving week by week.
This past Sunday, he appeared to be more poise than ever. In fact, he demanded the huddle with a veteran-like presence and one can tell his teammates are growing more and more respect for the young QB.
However, if this trade still happened this would be a hypothetical trade proposal:
Patriots Get: Trubisky and a 2023 7th-round pick
Steelers Get: Patriots 2023 fifth-round and 2024 sixth-round pick