The Patriots are 4-2 and riding a three-game win streak, but the offense keeps taking hits. Sunday’s win over the Jets came with enough sloppiness to keep New England honest: TreVeyon Henderson and Pop Douglas both put the ball on the ground, while A.J.
Brown’s much-anticipated return turned into a rough afternoon. Brown saw 10 targets, caught only three passes, and finished with a franchise-record four drops in a game.
A muffed onside kick with seconds left nearly turned a victory into a disaster.
Now the injury pileup is forcing the Patriots to consider help. Romeo Doubs, who led the team in receiving through six weeks, was placed on injured reserve after a shoulder injury. He joins Mack Hollins on IR and will miss at least the next four weeks.
That is why Jerry Jeudy has started to make sense as a trade possibility ahead of the deadline. If Pop Douglas, Efton Chism, and Kyle Williams do not stabilize the receiver room in the coming weeks, New England could decide it needs another veteran outside option. Jeudy, the Browns’ former first-round pick, fits that description.
Through six games, Jeudy has 12 catches for 150 yards, which works out to 25 yards per game. Before his most recent outing against the Ravens, when he had four receptions for 69 yards, he had been averaging just 16.2 yards per game over the first five weeks.
His quiet start has been tied in part to the Browns’ crop of young receivers. KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston have both entered the picture, with Concepcion going in the first round and Boston, a second-round pick, emerging as one of the league’s most impressive rookies so far. Add second-year players Quinshon Judkins and Harold Fannin Jr., and Cleveland’s focus looks pointed toward the future.
Jeudy, 27, is playing on a $13.5 million contract that expires after this season. If Cleveland decides he is available, or if its strong start cools off, moving him could become a real option.
For New England, the appeal is pretty clear: he would bring veteran experience and give Brown another outside target while Doubs is sidelined. With Douglas and Chism working inside and Williams as a deep threat, Jeudy could fill the intermediate outside role that has opened up with Doubs and Hollins hurt.
There is reason to be cautious, though. The Patriots can point to their Week 4 win over Buffalo, when backups did enough to get by.
But that game came with important context: Doubs and Hollins were the top receivers in it, Hunter Henry was the top overall pass-catcher, and Henry usually lines up inside rather than out wide. Brown should help replace some of that production, but expecting him to suddenly deliver nine catches, 111 yards, and two touchdowns every week would be a stretch after a three-drop game.
Buffalo’s defense also made that performance look better than it may have been. The Bills are allowing 28.5 points per game, 31st against the pass, and 28th overall. Drake Maye’s 269 passing yards in that game came in below their average of 285.8 passing yards allowed.
Jeudy’s alignment gives him some appeal for New England, too. More than 76% of his snaps this season have come on the outside, and against the Ravens in Week 6 that number climbed above 87%, a season high.
Cleveland’s place atop the AFC North may make it reluctant to deal anyone right now, especially a veteran receiver fresh off his best game of the season. That could push Jeudy’s price up. Even so, it is difficult to imagine the Browns asking for much more than a Day 3 pick, similar to the deal that sent him to Cleveland in 2024, when he was also in a contract year.
If the Browns come back toward the pack, Jeudy could turn into a popular name at the deadline. For New England, getting in front of that by offering a draft pick for an overlooked veteran in the final year of his deal might be the move that brings him to Foxborough.
Two years ago, Jeudy put up a career-best 1,229 yards, including 235 against the Broncos, the team he used to play for. The talent is there.
The question has always been whether it can be unlocked consistently. If Josh McDaniels and company think Jeudy can steady the receiver group now and become a useful rotation piece down the stretch, a late-round pick could be a small price to pay for a team with bigger ambitions.
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The Patriots are trying to keep their footing through a 1-2 start while injuries and turnovers continue to pile up, and DeMario Douglas has quickly become one of the offenses more important pieces. With other skill players banged up, the wideouts recent surge has given New England a needed spark, making his role even more central as the team searches for consistency.
Douglas also gave the Patriots a costly reminder in the loss to the Jets, when a fumble undercut a promising moment and put more pressure on an offense that can ill afford wasted chances. He has been steady enough lately to earn a bigger share of the load, but the mistake serves as a sharp test of how quickly he can bounce back while the Patriots are leaning on him for playmaking. [Read more 🡒]
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For the Patriots, the bigger question is whether Maye can keep the growth going against a defense that has had issues handling deep shots, even as personnel changes have altered the picture a bit. New England has reason to believe its young passer can test that area again, but this is also the kind of game where the Bears can make life uncomfortable if they get pressure, stay sound on the back end, and force the Patriots to win a different way. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Fourth Down Aggression May Reveal Vrabels Real Borregales Concern
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What has made the situation more interesting is the way New England has leaned harder into fourth-down decisions in recent games. The shift has opened the door to a bigger question about whether Vrabel is simply being aggressive, or whether he has started to trust the offense more than the rookie kicker in key moments. For now, the pattern suggests the Patriots are not just chasing points, but also revealing something about how they view Borregales and the margins of a game. [Read more 🡒]