The trade deadline is a little more than 24 hours away and ESPN made a list of trades they think should happen- and apparently they believe the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals should make a blockbuster move.
According to ESPN, they think the two teams should make the following moves:
Patriots give: OL Brian Schwenke, 2019 second round pick, 2019 conditional draft pick
Cardinals give: WR Larry Fitzgerald, LB Haason Reddick
Boom. Another “Fitzgerald to the Patriots?!” proposal, and I wonder if Fitzgerald falls into the category of receiver that Bill Belichick and company are actually looking to acquire.
In defense of this proposal, I’ve combined two separate trades- Fitzgerald for a conditional pick; Reddick for Schwenke and a second rounder- because it’s easier (and more fun) to digest as a package deal.
“The Patriots would be getting a highly reliable slot receiver with additional value as a blocker and leader,” ESPN’s Mike Sando writes. “Fitzgerald, Rob Gronkowski and emerging deep threat Josh Gordon would give Tom Brady ample weaponry for the stretch run.”
Sando proposes that the mid-round pick could increase if the Patriots reach or win the Super Bowl.
”I always felt [Reddick] was a sub rusher and Sam ‘backer, which is more of a fit for someone like New England,” an NFL evaluator told Sando. “He is the type of guy you could move all over the place to rush, then peel off the edge and cover the back in the flat.”
So what would you think of this trade?
I’m totally on board for the Patriots acquiring Reddick because he’s only in his second season in the league and he does have the perfect skill set for what New England asks of their linebackers.
As for Fitzgerald, Sando doesn’t list Julian Edelman, who would play pretty much the same role in the offense as Fitzgerald, as part of Brady’s ample weaponry, so the Patriots offense would certainly be supercharged. Fitzgerald spends roughly 70% of his time in the slot, so I would argue that the Patriots should aim for another outside receiver instead of another interior receiver.
But as a package deal, I’d be happy to make this blockbuster deal. Schwenke is the last offensive lineman on the Patriots depth chart and the draft picks are a pretty reasonable value for a young talent like Reddick and a veteran that can still play at a high level like Fitzgerald.
Of course, I don’t think the Patriots are going to be acquiring Fitzgerald any time soon. Getting Gordon and Fitzgerald in the span of a month would cause my brain to melt.