5 wild trades the Patriots could make for Bill Belichick this offseason

Let's be honest: trading Bill Belichick doesn’t make much sense. He has won more postseason games than any other NFL coach, and he’s 27 wins away from Don Shula’s regular season record. But after signing Belichick to a new deal before the season began, it makes even less sense to fire him.

No NFL team should be allowing any of their assets to just walk out the door, especially with so many teams in the market for a new head coach.

If there’s one thing we can say about the NFL with any certainty, it’s that some team owners are bona fide madmen. So, who could be interested in a trade, and what could the Patriots get in return?

Trade for Bill Belichick #1: To the Commanders for Sam Howell 

New ownership regimes are always interesting. They generally want to put their thumbprint on the franchise. Josh Harris is already expected to fire Ron Rivera at the end of the season after just 4 wins in the first 15 games of the season. And there’s talk that he could even rebrand the team for the third time since 2020. 

What better way to demonstrate to your fan base that you’re serious about reviving the team than bringing in one of the most successful coaches in history? And after allowing Howell to be sacked 60 times in his 15 starts Rivera has now decided to bench his QB. Howell should be as desperate for a fresh start as the new owners are. 

Trade for Bill Belichick #2: To the Chargers for Khalil Mack 

Just like Bill Belichick, if you thought Khalil Mack was done you are loud wrong. In his 10th season in the NFL Mack has recorded 15 sacks in 15 games. That equals the most of his career that he set as an Oakland Raider in 2015! Mack has only been listed as “inactive” for 4 games out of 161, so he’s as durable as they come. 

The Chargers have already fired head coach Brandon Staley, allegedly at halftime of the Raiders game in Week 15! They are definitely in the market for a new head coach and GM. 

Trade for Bill Belichick #3: To the Saints for Derek Carr 

Derek Carr and Dennis Allen have won 10 out of the 31 games they’ve been involved in together, and Allen’s record as a head coach currently stands at 22-46.

So, the Saints might as well blow it up right now. And the Patriots do need a new quarterback. Bailey Zappe can make short passes to running backs, but he’s never going to stretch a defense. And that’s a problem in the modern NFL. 

Trade for Bill Belichick #4: To the Raiders for Davante Adams 

Like the Chargers, the Raiders canned their head coach partway through the 2023 season. And while Antonio Pierce has been excellent as the “interim head coach,” so was Rich Bisaccia in 2021, and Mark Davis let him walk at the end of that season. Logic and NFL owners are rarely comfortable bedfellows. 

If the Patriots could persuade Davis that Belichick should be the main man in the desert, they should offer to take Adams’ contract off his hands. Davis does seem to have a penchant for ex-Patriots, too; he already signed Bolden, Jimmy G, Meyers, and Josh McDaniels. 

Adams has three years left on his current deal, and the 31-year-old is due to make just $16.8 million next season. If that sounds like a lot, he’s expected to earn around $73 million in the final two years of that deal! One way or another, that’s going to be reworked; Davis might as well let the Patriots' front office be the ones to figure it out. 

Trade for Bill Belichick #5: To the Panthers for Bryce Young 

David Tepper is pretty high on the list regarding erratic NFL owners. And even though he’s rumored to be the reason Bryce Young landed in Carolina in the first place, Tepper has demonstrated he’s not a big fan of loyalty. He is on his way to a 7th head coach since 2018.

So why wouldn’t he get rid of a quarterback he was convinced was the answer ten months ago? 

If the Patriots keep the coaching team below Belichick and just promote Jarod Mayo to head coach, then Bryce Young would have the chance to work with the offensive coordinator, who he credits with his success as a college quarterback, too. 

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