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New England Patriots Should Call About Vincent Jackson

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By @petahrahgas

Vincent Jackson

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL trade deadline is approaching. This means there will be a week of predicting trades, drumming up rumors, fanbases getting excited and then ultimately nothing happening. Because unlike every other professional sport, the NFL just doesn’t trade all that often, which is pretty lame if you ask me.

Having said that, let’s fully participate in the trade deadline fiesta and drum up a rumor which might have some validity to it (like maybe a 4 on a scale of 1-10): Vincent Jackson to the New England Patriots.

The Patriots will always be the first team that people think of whenever there is a wide receiver possibly on the market, because the Pats simply don’t have any household names at receiver. Even Julian Edelman is still working his way into the common household and he’s the best receiver on the Patriots by a long shot. We’ve seen this with the Larry Fitzgerald rumors and last year with the Andre Johnson rumors.

Add Jackson to this growing list.

Jackson has started to become a focal point in the trade deadline fiesta since he is an older receiver, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers suck, moving him would free up cap space, the Buccaneers suck, Mike Evans is a younger, better option and trading Jackson would give him more time to grow and did I mention the Buccaneers suck?

Lovie Smith has said that the team is not actively shopping Jackson but if his phone happens to ring, he will happily pick it up and listen to offers. Bill Belichick should be on the other end of that line.

Everyone knows the Patriots still need a big play receiver, and while Jackson is older, he is a big receiver. Like 6-foot-5, 230 pounds big, which is something Tom Brady has never really had. Yes Randy Moss was tall, but he wasn’t a big, physical receiver. The Patriots have cap space thanks to the Logan Mankins trade (ironically with the Buccaneers) and could take on Jackson’s contract.

Obviously the main question would be what Tampa Bay is looking for in return for Jackson, but it wouldn’t hurt to call. At least see what the Buccaneers are asking and if it is worth it to pull the trigger. Patriots fans have seen too often what happens when this team gets into the playoffs. Their offense struggles because defenses become better and more physical, and without a big target to stretch the field, teams put eight or nine in the box and force the Patriots to throw deep to receivers averaging under 6-foot. That’s not a winning strategy.

If Jackson can be acquired for a reasonable price, the Patriots should make a deal happen. They will be getting a big, extremely talented receiver who is a professional, a veteran and someone who could step right into this offense and really help open it up.

The Patriots made a big move at the deadline two years ago for Aqib Talib which worked out wonderfully for them. Hopefully they’ll soon have another Buccaneers trade that is a rousing success.

Peter Rogers is a New England Patriots writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @petahrahgas, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

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