Mike Vrabel‘s run as Patriots HC has produced a six-game win streak, restoring the team as a contender after a few down years. The Vrabel period has also produced a number of separations, as previous-regime players have been either demoted or shown the door (or both).
Last week, the Pats unloaded Kyle Dugger and Keion White — Bill Belichick draftees, one of whom (Dugger) current GM Eliot Wolf extended — and more assets could be dealt away despite a 7-2 record. One of those may well be Anfernee Jennings. The edge rusher is being shopped ahead of the deadline, per veteran insider Jordan Schultz.
Just more than 24 hours remain until this year’s trade endpoint, and the Patriots are trying to trade player who has fallen out of favor. This would be an interesting move, especially considering New England already dealt an edge rusher. White went to San Francisco in a Day 3 pick-swap agreement.
The Patriots are also not exactly deep on the edge, relying on late bloomer K’Lavon Chaisson as a starter opposite ex-Titan Harold Landry. Chaisson is making a reasonable attempt to shed the bust label this season. After notching five sacks in four Jaguars seasons, he has 11.5 over the past two seasons. Five and a half of those have come this year, tying Landry for the team lead. Free agency addition Milton Williams has 3.5, though no other Patriot has two. This has led to some rumors about the AFC East leaders being in the market for an EDGE addition. The team pursued Jaelan Phillips, as unrealistic as an intra-AFC East swap would have been, as well.
It would seem the Patriots are not satisfied with the quality of their edge-rushing situation, as they appear ready to add Jennings to the discard pile along with White. Jennings has been on the trade block for a bit, as rumors about his Foxborough departure came up in August — after he landed on Vrabel’s roster bubble — and October.
During Wolf’s year with Jerod Mayo, the Pats re-signed Jennings to a three-year, $12MM deal. Less than $1MM remains in 2025 base salary, and Jennings’ $3MM 2026 paragraph 5 number is nonguaranteed. He played well in 2023, notching 14 tackles for loss. Never a prolific sack artist (6.5 in his career), the former third-round pick has made 37 starts in a six-year career. Nevertheless, the Pats look to making final calls on unloading the Belichick-era player. It will be interesting to see if he is replaced on the trade market before Tuesday’s deadline.