3 key takeaways after New England Patriots fall to 1-5 in 2023

3. Is the firesale coming at the trade deadline?

I don't think the New England Patriots winning this game would have changed much, but 2-4 would have been much easier to digest than 1-5. At this point, the 1-5 record feels like a dagger in the heart of this team, and I think the firesale at the trade deadline is coming, and I don't think there is a single untradeable player on this roster.

That is a problem, to me. The Patriots don't really have elite players anywhere. Being able to consider untradeable means they are a cornerstone piece for their team. You could argue that rookie CB Christian Gonzalez falls into this category, but he's not a veteran player and players on their rookie contracts almost never get traded.

No matter the player, besides the encouraging rookies, the New England Patriots need to be open to trading anyone and everyone. They should pay close attention to three of their pending free agents in Kyle Dugger, Josh Uche, and Mike Onwenu, who are all above-average at what they do. I think there's a strong argument for the team to keep all three players, but if a team were to come calling about, let's say, Onwenu, and were to offer a second-round pick, I think the Patriots would be smart to take a deal like that.

Did Week 6 guarantee that the firesale is coming?