With two weeks to go before the bye, Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots sit at 5-3, including a perfect 3-0 in the division. That said, they have two tough matchups ahead: hosting the Green Bay Packers and then the Detroit Lions.
The November 10 trade deadline is approaching, and the injury bug has stung this team pretty badly. Drake Maye and company keep finding ways to win, but the roster's depth continues to be tested week to week.
That's why Mike Vrabel may have softened his tone about potentially adding more talent to the mix. While he sounded somewhat reluctant about it earlier in the campaign, he left the door open for some moves in his weekly appearance on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show."
Patriots' Mike Vrabel hints at some 'conversations' ahead of the trade deadline
“I think we’ll try to do what we can to make the team better. I mean, we’ll see. If there’s things that we feel like can help us, we’ll try to do,” Vrabel said. “I think this time of year everybody talks. I’m sure there’s lots of conversations with all the teams and personnel people.”
Of course, this might sound like a non-update or just classic coach talk, but the mere fact that he didn't shut anything down is already a big shift. He might still feel they have the right guys in the building, but injuries are piling up, and they must do something.
The Patriots' pass rush has been better than expected this season, but they could still be in the mix for some veteran help. The running game could use a hand, especially if TreVeyon Henderson's availability remains an issue, and you can never rule out adding another pass catcher.
That said, watching this team pull off big wins despite being severely undermanned should be encouraging, if anything. They're clearly not as stacked as other AFC contenders, so adding more firepower should only elevate their ceiling.
Granted, as much as the fans would love it, the Patriots might not pull off a league-shattering move like trading for Maxx Crosby. That doesn't mean they can't add impactful depth pieces to round out what they already have in the building.
Coach Vrabel didn't want to make excuses or look for saviors outside the building when the Patriots dropped two of their first three games of the season, and Drake Maye looked like a shell of himself.
But now that they're back on track and look like a team just a couple of pieces away from another deep postseason run, not fielding the trade market for upgrades would be organizational malpractice.
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