As successful as Bill Belichick was during his run as head coach of the New England Patriots, they were never exactly famous for their wide receiver corps. Randy Moss played one year for Belichick and Tom Brady in 2009 and enjoyed his usual video game numbers, but other than that New England was usually pretty barren at this position.
The lack of depth at wide receiver was a problem for Jerod Mayo last season, and it'll likely be one for Mike Vrabel in 2025 unless they manage to get a couple of serious upgrades between now and Week 1. It makes sense then that the Patriots are considering multiple options. According to a report by Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed at the Boston Herald, the Patriots inquired about Seattle Seahawks stud wideout DK Metcalf.
Patriors 'kicked tires' on DK Metcalf
"The front office has nonetheless kicked the tires on a potential trade for Seattle’s D.K. Metcalf, per source, while it weighs the ripple effects of making a player they’re not familiar with, like Metcalf, the new highest-paid player on the team."
However, the Herald's report also states that they'd prefer to target a top free agent rather than trade for a new No. 1 wide receiver. Apparently they had their eye on Tee Higgins, but he was franchise-tagged by the Bengals, taking that option off the table. The Pats also prefer Chris Godwin from Tampa to a trade.
With Higgins out of the picture, Godwin is going to be the biggest legitimate name on the market at wide receiver. After him, the Patriots would have to settle for gambling on one of several former stars like Amari Cooper or Stefon Diggs.
Obviously, Metcalf would be a better WR1 than all of them, but there's always that pesky little question as to why the Seahawks woul trade Metcalf to the Patriots - or anybody. "Kicking the tires" probably amounts to a very short conversation between New England's front office and general manager John Schneider, who seems annoyed at the mere idea that Metcalf might have a "situation" worthy of commenting on this offseason.
The only real argument for sending Metcalf away is if they could get a stupid amount of draft capital in return, and as badly as they need someone like DK they aren't stupid enough to send the No. 4 overall pick to Seattle to get him. From there, the Patriots' next-best pick is No. 38, followed by Nos. 69 and 77 overall.
If the Seahawks are going to send Metcalf away at this point in the offseason with the way his contract is structured, they shouldn't do it for less than two of those selections.
