When it comes to making trades in professional sports, teams who have a snowball's chance in Death Valley of winning a championship tend to ship their best players out of town. The Patriots are most certainly not a Super Bowl contender in 2024, but that doesn't mean Eliot Wolf should be making phone calls for their best players. In fact, most of them are under contract for 2025 and beyond.
With the NFL's Nov. 4 trade deadline closer than one may realize, the Patriots have several players whom Wolf should hit the "send to voicemail" button on his phone if opposing general managers try to swing deals for.
The Patriots have plenty of draft capital and salary cap space - the latter being the most in the league at more than $50 million - to not downgrade their roster yet upgrade it next offseason.
That said, here are three important players - in no particular order - who should be off-limits to the NFL's 31 other teams at the trade deadline.
3 players the Patriots should not trade as the deadline nears
1. Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne
Bourne signed a new contract in the offseason - a three-year, $33 million deal - and the veteran is a great presence in the locker room to mentor the young wide receivers. Not only that, but Bourne gives Drake Maye an important security blanket as a slot receiver who can make plays after the catch.
Bourne is also working his way back from a torn ACL suffered last year, so look for him to be a vital piece of the offense in the second half of this season and beyond.
2. Tight end Hunter Henry
Like Bourne, the Patriots gave Henry a new contract during the offseason, a three-year deal worth $30 million. Henry is only 29 years old and is entering the prime of his career. He is a versatile tight end who can catch, run, and block. Maye needs weapons in the middle of the field, and Henry gives the Patriots just that.
They need to hold on to him, and most of the NFL's heavyweights already have bonafide tight ends. Henry isn't going anywhere.
3. Safety Kyle Dugger
The Patriots rewarded the quarterback of their secondary with a new contract this offseason, with Dugger's four-year, $58 million deal assuring he'll spend the prime of his career in New England. Between Dugger, Marcus Jones, and Christian Gonzalez, the Patriots' secondary is as good as it gets in the NFL when healthy.
Ever since Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1993, the Patriots have had ball-hawking safeties who can play the run and pass, going back to Lawyer Milloy, Rodney Harrison, Devin McCourty, and now Dugger. Dugger needs to be the anchor of this secondary for years to come.