Patriots' Biggest Trade Candidates Revealed Ahead of 2024 NFL Season

The New England Patriots could be in to make a splash before the year starts.

Jun 10, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (7) makes a catch at minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

While all is quiet in the NFL landscape, there remains a chance for some teams around the league to continue to stay busy in their roster construction as we get closer to week one of the regular season.

For the New England Patriots, this is still a squad that could use some work on both sides of the ball in order to get back to being one of the premier teams the league has to offer.

A franchise rebuild is still in full effect, which makes for some interesting conversations about who could be deemed a long-term building block of this team, and who could end up being a piece that's shipped off in an effort to improve.

Among those pieces on the roster that could elevate into some key trade candidates could be sitting in the receiver room. Bleacher Report's Joe Tansey laid out who on the Patriots could be in prime position to see a change of scenery in the coming months, where veteran WR JuJu Smith-Schuster headlined the top of the group:

A healthy and productive JuJu Smith-Schuster should be one of the NFL's more popular trade targets... New England has plenty of young wide outs behind Smith-Schuster on the depth chart who could take over his role if he does leave at some point of the 2024 campaign. The ideal situation for all parties is for Smith-Schuster to have a strong opening half of the regular season, generate trade interest and then for a move to happen to let Ja'Lynn Polk, Demario Douglas and others earn more in-game snaps.

- Joe Tansey, Bleacher Report

It was a bumpy year one in Foxboro for Smith-Schuster, where he dealt with some nagging injuries that kept him in only 11 games, totaling 29 receptions, 260 yards, and a touchdown.

Coming into his debut season with New England, the expectations for Smith-Schuster's production landed a bit higher than the actual output we saw after an almost 1,000-yard season in Kansas City for 2022. There's hope for a bounce-back for this coming year, but that could be paired with finding a new home, potentially with a contending team looking for some more firepower in their receiving room.

Tansey also laid out the idea of Kendrick Bourne arising as a trade candidate to keep an eye on, despite opting to re-up with a fresh contract to stay in New England over this offseason:

Kendrick Bourne may not have the same level of trade interest as Smith-Schuster, but the same strategy applies to him. A solid first half of the regular season could lead to trade interest and additional draft picks for the Patriots... Bourne's potential impact on a contending team is a harder sell than it is for Smith-Schuster, but he can change any perceptions about him with a great start, no matter who the quarterback is.

- Joe Tansey, Bleacher Report

Bourne signed a three-year, $19.5 million extension this summer to remain with the Patriots until becoming a free agent once again in 2027. Like Smith-Schuster, he's also a player who dealt with some injuries last season, allowing him to appear in only eight games, but he still managed to collect 37 receptions on 406 yards and four touchdowns.

When healthy, Bourne has stood out as a prominent part of New England's weaponry. His best season came in 2021 during his debut season with the Patriots, where he amassed 800 receiving yards on 55 receptions. If the opportunity comes his way again, you could expect his numbers to jump back to his previous totals and probably write off any notion of a trade being in order.

With the selections of Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker during the Patriots' most recent draft, there's a world where New England decides to pivot heavily into their youth movement by sending off the veteran talent Tansey mentioned

However, with us being so close to the next New England campaign, you could anticipate this front office to remain conservative until we see what this current group is made of during training camp.

Fans will get an opportunity to see the Patriots hit the field once training camp kicks off on July 24th.

---

Follow New England Patriots On SI over on our Facebook and Twitter/X to stay up to date on all Patriots news and rumors!