Jerod Mayo admits Patriots are not done pursuing top-name receivers via trade

After failing to convince Calvin Ridley to sign in free agency and bowing out of the trade pursuit for Brandon Aiyuk, the demeanor in New England was they were giving up on adding a top name receiver to the 2024 roster this offseason. Eliot Wolf said as much when addressing the decision to take their offer off the table for Aiyuk, stating they were comfortable with their current young receiving corps.

Given the expectations for the Patriots season and their clear focus on building a young team through the draft, it made sense to hold off their efforts until someone becomes available near the trade deadline, or waiting until next year's free agency to pick things up again.

However, because there are still a few receivers worthy of monitoring, one of whom being Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb, reporters inevitably asked about the possibility that the Patriots will be inquiring about a possible trade.

Because the team's offer to Aiyuk, which included upwards of $33 million a year with a four-year extension, was made public, the team is no longer an immediate write-off in contention to land a player of Lamb's caliber.

That's what made Mayo's answer about the ongoing saga between the receiver and the Cowboys that much more interesting.

Could the third time be the charm for the Patriots pursuit of a top-name wide receiver?

During his weekly appearance on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Monday, Mayo was asked about the fallout from Aiyuk and their decision to back out. That then brought up their potential interest in Lamb, which the head coach quickly addressed without saying too much to end the interview.

"You can't talk about players on other teams, but you can put a call in."

Although it seemed to be said in a joking manner, it wouldn't be surprising to know that the Patriots have called Jerry Jones in Dallas about the saga with Lamb. It doesn't appear that a resolution is nearing, and since they have been actively involved in other potentially tradeable receivers, there's no reason for them to sit out of this one.

Eliot Wolf implied they are active in that regard when speaking to reporters recently, stating that they "Make calls on all positions and on all players that we think might be able to help" the team. By all indications, that should include a call about Lamb, who is currently holding out and is yet to appear for training camp or a preseason

The Cowboys reportedly offered him a contract worth $33 million a season, which Lamb declined. The Patriots have already shown they are willing to pay that and then some for top-of-the-league talent, so this might be their chance to finally get a deal done.

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