3 Patriots players who shouldn’t be on the roster after the NFL trade deadline

The Drake Maye era is finally here for the New England Patriots, and it's gotten off to a better start than anybody could have imagined. Well, except for in the win column, but the Patriots are so bad that it's just impressive to see Maye playing so well.

In two starts, Maye has totaled well over 500 yards with five passing touchdowns and only two interceptions. Though the Patriots are 0-2 in his two career starts, Maye has looked miles better than Jacoby Brissett did early in the year, proving the Patriots right for opting to move onto Maye this early in the year.

With a new era beginning in New England, the roster is going to need to go through continuous changes until they find their identity and begin winning. Whether it's trading players away to gather draft picks or cutting players due to their lack of production, the Patriots need to make some serious roster moves in the near future.

3. WR Tyquan Thornton

There has been speculation that the Patriots could be looking to acquire a wide receiver before the trade deadline. There are a few different names being connected to New England, but just recently, Jacob Robinson and Dianna Russini of The Athletic suggested that the Patriots will trade for Carolina Panthers wide receiver, Diontae Johnson.

"Patriots acquire Diontae Johnson, sending the Panthers a 2025 third round pick. The Panthers have zero reason to accept anything less, as they’ll receive a third-round compensatory pick if Johnson signs a decent contract elsewhere in 2025," They wrote. "The Patriots have an extra third and $35 million in cap space this year and $137 million next season (tops in the league), so they may be willing to extend Johnson immediately. Drake Maye deserves at least one WR who can separate."

With the Patriots heavily connected to adding a wide receiver, as they should be, somebody will have to go if they add another wideout. That somebody is Tyquan Thornton, a 24-year-old wide receiver who has never found his footing in the NFL.

The Patriots could either look to deal him to a desperate team, maybe even to the Carolina Panthers if the Diontae Johnson idea comes to fruition. If not, the Patriots would be better off just releasing him at this point.

2. SS Kyle Duggar

Looking at the Patriots roster, they have a little bit of talent scattered everywhere. But they could also use some help in just about every position group on the roster.

Looking at their roster, it's obvious to tell that they're still quite a ways away from winning, especially in the AFC East. With that said, it's crucial that the Patriots begin developing their younger players as quickly as possible. They're not one big free agency signing away from contending, so getting young players like Marte Mapu on the field as much as possible is a crucial step to their rebuild.

Right now, the veteran safety, Kyle Duggar, is playing over Mapu. Duggar is talented, so when I suggest that he shouldn't be on the Patriots roster past the trade deadline, it's not because he isn't good enough to make the roster. It's because Duggar is talented enough that the Patriots could trade him for some draft capital while also clearing room for the younger Mapu to play.

It's a new era in New England and it's going to take quite a bit of time and patience to get to where they want to be. Trading Duggar for a Day 2 pick wouldn't be the worst idea for New England this season.

1. QB Jacoby Brissett

The Drake Maye era is here in New England. With that said, there's not much of a reason for the Patriots to continue to roster the veteran, Jacoby Brissett.

If they were a competitive team, keeping Brissett as a backup would make sense. On the chance that Maye is injured, having a reliable veteran to slot in would keep them competitive. But this Patriots team isn't competitive no matter who is under center, so having a quality backup really doesn't mean anything at all. New England would actually be better off trading Brissett to a team that could use a veteran backup.

New England has rookie Joe Milton sitting as the third-string right now. Milton, though not looked at as an NFL QB quite yet, packs a ton of talent. He's a tremendous athlete with an incredible arm on him. There's no reason that the Patriots can't make him the backup. What's the worst thing that could happen if Maye gets hurt and the Patriots have to turn to Milton? They lose more games.

But carrying Brissett on the roster is just a wasted space at this point. He won't take the job back from Maye and the Patriots have zero use for a quality backup.