The New England Patriots, who traded away pass-rusher Josh Uche ahead of the NFL trade deadline, bolstered their defensive front by claiming EDGE Yannick Ngakoue off of waivers after his release from the Baltimore Ravens, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The 29-year-old veteran is now joining his sixth team since the 2020 season.
In his nine-year career, Ngakoue has 70.5 sacks over 128 games. He was a third-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2016 NFL Draft.
New England also added Ochaun Mathis from their practice squad after the Uche trade. The rebuilding Patriots were relatively quiet ahead of the trade deadline despite having many names tied to rumors and speculation, such as Christian Gonzalez, Kyle Dugger, K.J. Osborn, Tyquan Thornton, Jonathan Jones, Davon Godchaux and Kendrick Bourne.
Patriots' Drake Maye era underway
It's not an easy time to be a young quarterback in the NFL. Not everyone hits the ground running like the Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels. Maye came up just short last week in a 20-17 overtime loss against the Tennessee Titans.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft is already self-evaluating his performances as he attempts to approve week-to-week.
“I think my first and second down decision-making has been big,” Maye said, per the Patriots' official website. “I think whether it's run checks or one high, two high stuff, different things that we're getting in and out of plays, I've been proud of the way that I feel like I've done well,” Maye said in a press release from the team. “That's props to T.C. [McCartney] and the quarterback room of what he does, and preparing us in the quarterback room of being ready.
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“Other than that, I think making some plays. I think that's part of my game,” Maye said. “I'm proud of sometimes extending some plays and making plays with my feet, and picking up a first down or third down with my feet. It can go a long way with an offense. I look forward to hopefully helping do some more of that and do a better job of finding these guys open and let them do their thing.”
Maye certainly needs help from his defense, which was supposed to be a strength of this team. The Patriots are allowing 24.1 points per game, 21st in the league. New England's 361.4 yards allowed per game is tied for eighth-worst. Their eight takeaways are tied for fourth-worst among teams that've played nine games. Perhaps the addition of Ngakoue can help the Patriots' pass rush and spur some takeaways.
The Patriots travel to Chicago to face the Bears in Week 10 on Sunday, November 10 at 1:00 p.m. EST.
