The New England Patriots probably are watching with curiosity to see which offensive players might emerge on the trade market. It seems Cincinnati Bengals receiver John Ross, the 2017 ninth-overall pick, is among those standouts who could get moved. He requested a trade, according to NFL Newtork’s Mike Garofolo.
Ross, who is due $2,798,981 in salary in 2020, has been hot and cold throughout his career. This season, his contributions have been reduced to two catches for 17 yards and a touchdown. In 2019, he had 28 catches for 508 yards and three touchdowns in eight games. That kind of production would be a tremendous boon to New England’s offense.
From @gmfb: #Bengals WR John Ross approached the team about a trade recently. The speedster, in the last year of his rookie deal, hasn't been playing much of late and wants a fresh start if that's going to continue being the case. pic.twitter.com/0LbfY9ODb4
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 20, 2020
The Patriots receiving corps include Damiere Byrd, N’Keal Harry, Julian Edelman, Isaiah Zuber, Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski. With a lackluster the tight end and receiver group, the Patriots have struggled to generate yardage in the passing game, with the 207.2 passing yards per game, eighth worse in the NFL. There is good company in that bottom-eight group, the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, and there is awful company in that group, the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, New York Jet and the Washington Redskins.
There’s one potential roadblock: the team has had trouble acclimating offensive players in the middle of the season. If the Patriots did acquire yet another skill player, they’d need Cam Newton to help them avoid a repeat of the Mohamed Sanu situation, where the receiver simply never made an impact after New England traded a second round pick. Because Ross has been so hot (and so not), New England might be leery of trading for a player with a history of inconsistency.
