Patriots trade rumors are HEATING up...

Patriots trade rumors are heating up after Mike Vrabel discussed the lack of depth on this team and now an injury at the edge rusher position could put the Patriots into a perfect spot to go grab a guy that has been heavily linked to New England in the past. We break down the latest trade rumor on Kayvon Thibodeau, why he's being once again linked to the New England Patriots, and why the price is actually a lot better than what maybe I would think, but also I want to get your thoughts on it. So welcome into Patriots Digest, everybody. I'm JC Andrews, and I hope you're having a great day wherever you guys might be. We've got a lot of things to break down in regards to trade talks with the New England Patriots, and of course we can talk about the depth issue that Mike Vrabel has fully stated about, but let's go into the big reason why I'm talking Thibodeau today, and that goes back to August 30th, the roster cut down area in which the Patriots put Harold Landry to begin the season. They put him on the pup list, meaning he will miss the first four games of the regular season, and that is something that is going to be a huge thing, because if you look at the linebackers now, and this is again the full linebacker depth chart, you've got Elijah Ponder, Quintavious Hutchinson, Draymond Jones, and Gabe Akis. I love Gabe Akis, and I think that in a perfect world, it's probably Jones and Akis on either side, but the depth is not there. As much as I love Elijah Ponder, you want to have something on those edges that are in a similar way to Harold Landry, and we've talked so much about what Elliott Wolfe has done this offseason, the ability that he's been able to kind of, you know, find some guys in prior years in this season. It's not been that same way, and that's where Thibodeau can come in and be a guy that you can add in and honestly be a perfect, perfect thing for this Patriots, especially considering the situation that you're in heading into week one. 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We've got the perfect thing for you because you can use the link in the description or on the pinned comment and use code DigestNFL that you see on your screen right now, and you're going to get $25 added to your account instantly when you sign up. Thank you to Calshi for keeping us on the air here on Patriots Digest. What does the trade look like for, quote unquote, Kayvon Thibodeau? Where did this go? Well, this was Bleacher Report, or BR Gridiron, the football part of it, that released a, I guess, trade value thought process, and here is what they put out there. It would be the Patriots getting edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeau. In return, the Patriots would be giving back a 2027 second round pick, which is a lot in some senses, but also, if it works out and the Patriots are going to keep him in a tandem, could be in a good spot. The question, obviously, is becoming, you know, are they considered worried about their edge rushing position, not just this year, but in the future? I think that's the bigger thing when it comes to me, because Thibodeau is a fantastic player, and I think there was a lot of people saying that he could have a great season this year and be that first round talent out of Oregon that we kind of expected, but we don't know that. But the problem is, with Harold Landry being out, you are missing a guy who was a huge part of your defense last year. He was third on the team in pressures and led the defense in sacks last year in 2025. So you are missing a huge part on the outside of your linebacker depth that is, it's going to be hard to replace. Now, I put this out there by saying the Patriots defense did fantastic for weeks, what, 17, 18 and into the playoffs, and we didn't see Harold Landry more than a couple snaps per game in those timelines, because that's when this original injury starts. But also, that gets me concerned because that injury happened in what, week 15 of the 2025 season. We are now going into 2026, and he's having to miss more games and not just, oh, he might miss these four games. Oh, no, we're putting on the public because he's not going to play. He's not going to play. So we're going to put him on that list. But is it worth it to overreact in some ways if you want to say that to Harold Landry being out and go out there and grab a guy like for a second round pick, which in the 2027 draft is like gold to the New England Patriots. We've talked so much about the A.J. Brown trade and why they were so prevalent on making sure that first round pick was not for this year. It was for the next year in 2028. And so I would find it hard for them to give up a second round pick here in this upcoming draft. But it just does depend on what the future holds for Harold Landry, what the future you can see in your addressing him, because if you can get Cabot and Thibodeau in here and he can produce and perform to at least some of the capable things that we've seen in the past, I mean, that could be a very good thing. You can keep on your roster and try and extend. I mean, you think about it. This guy had an eleven and a half sack season, not three years ago, like he has the capable factors and he can do that. And in this year, in this year's preseason, he had one game, one tackle. I don't really care much about preseason, but the sack numbers have been up now. He had that one year, 50 tackles on top of it, and he played in all 17 games. Can't be said for the other seasons. So it's a risk for sure. And that is where that second round pick kind of becomes an interesting point of conversation, to say the least. So I'll throw up the pick on the screen again. Cabot and Thibodeau comes to New England and a second round pick goes to the New York football Giants. Would you do this trade? If you would, then I want you to type T for trade. If you would pass on this trade, meaning you don't want Thibodeau for a second round pick, or maybe you feel as though it's too high a bargain, whatever it might be, you can put that in the comment section. But P for pass is the one that you would put if you do not want to make this trade. Now, Yahoo! Sports kind of did their whole excerpt on why this would be a good deal for both sides, but also what would be some complications. I think that was maybe more interesting, saying, quote, The financial side would make any deal more complicated. Spotrak lists Thibodeau with a $14.751 million salary and a cat pit in 2026 on his fifth year option. He will become an unrestricted free agent in 2027, so New England would likely want some assurance that a second round pick was buying more than a short-term rental, which is, again, wanting him to stay here longer than just this season. There's also evidence that a second round pick is the Giants' preferred price. In fact, Knox cited from The Athletic's Dan Duggan in reporting that New York had discussed a Thibodeau trade with the Northern Saints during the draft, but the Saints wouldn't meet that asking price of a second round pick. Things can change from the draft into the regular season, and that can change for better or for worse. The Giants could be fully off the board and not wanting to trade Kayvon Thibodeau. They also could be more on board, saying, yeah, we want actually to trade him. Actually, we'll do a third round pick. Right now, we don't really know what the thought process is in the minds of the Giants, because we can't tell you what they're thinking. I mean, Kayvon Thibodeau, he didn't really play much in the preseason, and he's got some prowess to him, but again, he's going into this final season of that rookie contract. So, there's a lot of questions in regards to what Thibodeau would mean to the Patriots in regards to what he would mean to the Giants, and I think he'd mean more to the Patriots, but again, it would have to be a good situation. I don't know if a second round pick is what Elliott Wolfe is going to do. Now, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't do it. If you're asking me this situation, I think I'd look at the facts, and I might want to play a game or two just to see how our addressing rooms look, because, I mean, I do like Elijah Ponder. I do believe in Gabe Akis and that he could potentially just play on the other side of the defensive line or the linebacker side. So, with that, I might say, okay, I'm going to keep my eyes on Thibodeau, but the problem that you risk there is that he comes out and he performs well in his first couple games, and that asking price is either no longer on the table for a second round pick or becomes more, you know, a second and a third or whatever it might be. So, I am kind of in the middle right now. I think I would love to see Kayvon Thibodeau with the New England Patriots. I have made a ton of videos on him and really do like what he brings, and I think that these stats, I know they're not great over some seasons, but you just go back to that 2023 year and what you can see in what is a 25-year-old, I like that, and I think it could be a really good fit with the New England Patriots, given the injury to Harold Landry. But we'll wait and see. Again, I'm not, I'm probably not making the trade until the season starts, so, you know, we'll see what happens. But let me know what you think down in the comments section on the potential for Kayvon Thibodeau to New England, and, of course, we'll keep you updated on all the latest. For now, otherwise, appreciate you watching. Peace out.