3 trades Patriots should have made before the deadline

The New England Patriots may have been given a dose of false hope when they beat the Buffalo Bills two weeks ago, because now that they have dropped to 2-6, things are looking grim once again.

A record like that also begs the question: why weren't the Patriots more aggressive sellers at this year's trade deadline?

New England's season is going no where, and has been for weeks now. It is quite frustrating to watch the team fail to net any type of assets for their trade candidates, especially knowing a possible rebuild is in the future.

These three players should have been dealt, and the Patriots will wind up regretting not making the moves.

1. A Trent Brown trade

Offensive tackle Trent Brown is playing great football this season and is 30 years old. He is on a one-year deal with New England, too, which means he very well could be gone next spring in free agency.

If the Patriots are going to try and get younger and build for the future, why wouldn't they trade an aging offensive tackle who could easily be a missing piece for a contending team? It seems foolish not to go out and try to get an early Day 3 pick for a player like Brown, but that's what the Patriots settled for.

Brown is one of Pro Football Focus' top graded tackles this year, earning especially high marks in run blocking. The Patriots might have been able to get a fourth-round pick out of him, but instead, chose to stand still.