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New England Patriots are Not Going to Trade for RB or WR

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By @ConnorFultonRS

Brandon LaFell New England Patriots

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

There is a flood of trade rumors involving the New England Patriots ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. In other news, water is wet.

Larry Fitzgerald, Vincent Jackson, Andre Johnson, Marshawn Lynch and Doug Martin have all been the subject of trade rumors involving the Patriots. For some reason, it seems like no other team is as talked about during the trade deadline crunch as the Patriots.

However, the Patriots aren’t going to make any trades. They are just fine.

Yes, the loss of Stevan Ridley hurts the backfield. That being said, the combination of Shane Vereen and Jonas Gray combined for 120 yards against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, indicating that the Patriots’ running game will survive the absence of Ridley. And don’t forget about rookie James White, who was all the rage during training camp.

The Pats simply don’t need to acquire a star running back. In fact, it would be quite a waste. They will get by fine with the bruising style of Gray coupled with the shiftiness of Vereen, and the untapped talent of White awaiting deployment. Trading away a valuable draft pick in the third or fourth round and having to sacrifice precious cap space for a back with name recognition just isn’t necessary.

Now, on to the wide receiver position. If there is one thing that Week 8 taught us, it’s that the Patriots are diversifying their aerial attack. Gone are the days of Julian Edelman making 26 receptions in a game (OK, slight exaggeration, but you get the point). As long as Rob Gronkowski stays healthy, the New England passing game is a force to be reckoned with.

Brandon LaFell is becoming a threat on the outside, and is on track for career numbers in every receiving category. It’s clear that he’s developed a rapport with Tom Brady. In addition, Brian Tyms is a deep-throw playmaker reminiscent of Randy Moss. Furthermore, Danny Amendola has broken out of his early-season irrelevance and is making contributions.

Between LaFell, Tyms, Edelman and Amendola, the Patriots are not in the market for a big-name wideout. Again, that would involve axing cap space. In 2015, several fixtures of the Patriots’ roster are up for free agency, including Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty, Ridley and Vereen. It’s critical that the Pats hold on to all the money they have so they can retain these stars.

Lastly, the Patriots’ offensive scheme is extremely complicated. It would take a newcomer weeks to become familiarized with the playbook, and even then, they wouldn’t be fully comfortable in the offense considering how much Brady expects of his players. Simply put, a trade for a star skill player just isn’t going to happen.

Connor Fulton is a Patriots writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ConnorFultonRS, or find him on Google.

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