ET. After all, they are in the early stages of an all-encompassing rebuild: finding out which assets to keep while simultaneously strengthening the position for the future is key. In years past, the Patriots have never shied away from making deadline moves.

Among the four major sports, the NFL trade deadline tends to be one of the slowest. It's rare for big name players to change teams mid-season, but that doesn't stop analysts from trying to hype up deals.