6 players the Patriots should NOT trade before the deadline

Jonathan Jones

As one of the players retained during free agency this year, receiving a two-year $19,000,000 contract to keep him in New England through next season, the assumption would seem that Jonathan Jones is safe from a trade.

However, with the recent acquisition of J.C. Jackson from the Chargers, who is in the midst of a five-year contract he signed in Los Angeles, and the emergence of Christian Gonzalez before his season-ending injury, it wouldn't be shocking to hear Belichick become more willing to move on from Jones a bit sooner than initially anticipated.

On top of that, Jack Jones, who was impressive during his rookie season last year and recently practiced with the team again after returning from injured reserve, and Marcus Jones are still on rookie contracts. That gives the Patriots four excellent secondary players who could step into Jones' role if the veteran is traded elsewhere.

The problem with all that is that heading into the Week 7 game against the Bills, Marcus Jones is rumored to miss the rest of the season. If true, he would join Gonzalez with that unfortunate news, making the cornerback room a bit thinned out.

Jonathan Jones is probably one of the more valuable players Belichick could choose to trade, as a reliable player who has proven he can be used all over the secondary and outperform all expectations. That makes him incredibly important to the currently depleted defense, which should be reason enough to keep him in New England.