Daily news and links for Wednesday.

The trade deadline came and went yesterday and, consistent with how the season has gone so far, the Patriots did not make any moves. Fans and pundits were itching for the team to “do something,” to sell, to at least show that they understood the 2023 roster isn’t getting the job done and change needs to happen.

Change for change’s sake isn’t necessarily a good thing. Giving Josh Uche away for a 5th-rounder wouldn’t have made anyone feel better about the team. The Vikings weren’t calling to desperately offer a high-round draft pick for Mac Jones to replace Kirk Cousins and his torn Achilles. It wasn’t hubris keeping Bill Belichick from deal-making – it was the lack of an offer worth the value of his players. That’s the reality.

Where does that leave us heading into Week 9? With a roster that can’t match up with other rosters at the top of the league. The team lacks star power support around Mac Jones, the few pieces that are head and shoulders above their opponents. Tom Brady used to make up for the talent gap, even in down years. He simply made skill position players look better than they may have been on other teams with a less-GOATy quarterback. He worked harder, played smarter and because of that, was a better team motivator on both sides of the ball.

Brady was the ultimate exception. That’s too much to put on anyone else. Bill Belichick has been able to build the roster a certain way, an effective way, because of Tom Brady and all the intangibles that came with his performance. He needs to realize his quarterback needs more help when he starts reshaping the roster for 2024.

TEAM TALK

• Transaction: Patriots place WR Kendrick Bourne on Injured Reserve.
• Evan Lazar reports that with a next-man-up mentality, young receivers Tyquan Thornton and Kayshon Boutte could get an opportunity to play.
• Mike Dussault’s Patriots Mailbag: Trade deadline possibilities, Bourne’s impact and Mac outlook.
• Press Conferences: Bill O’Brien – Cam Achord – Brian Belichick.
• Sights and Sounds: Week 8 vs. Miami Dolphins. (3 min. video)
• Patriots Unfiltered: Recapping Dolphins game, injury updates, trade deadline. (2 hours)

LOCAL LINKS

• Andrew Callahan’s Patriots-Dolphins film review: The simple reason Bill Belichick and Mac Jones lost again at Miami is due to “the talent gap”.
• Michael Hurley serves up some stone-cold leftover Patriots thoughts: You look at this game and it came down to one thing: Talent.
• Jerry Thornton gives his his Knee-Jerk reactions to Pats-Fins: You can argue simple incompetence all you want, but there’s more to this than mere bad officiating. These were science fiction/horror tropes. So blatant that they had to be deliberate. From the creepy twins who moved together through the Overlook Hotel inviting the Patriots to come play with them – To the whistle that went back through time to undo a Dolphins turnover – The phantom Pass Interference-The incredible disappearing Ineligible Man – And worst of all, the poltergeist that nearly killed DeVante Parker, while an innocent man was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. /Includes gifs as evidence.
• Phil Perry says the Patriots couldn’t find a trade worth making by yesterday’s deadline.
• Karen Guregian thinks it’s time for the Patriots to back up the Brink’s truck and focus on signing some of their players on expiring contracts. And that’s just the beginning.
• Alex Barth explains how Sunday’s matchup against the Commanders just got a bit easier after the trade deadline.
• Khari Thompson passes along a report from The Athletic saying the Patriots did not receive any calls about trading for Mac Jones.
• Karen Guregian issues her Patriots report card: Not anywhere near good enough in must-win scenario.
• Steve Balestrieri hands out his Patriots Week 8 grades: Huge step back in latest Miami loss.
• Khari Thompson relays Bill O’Brien on how it will take more than one player to replace Kendrick Bourne’s production.
• Harrison Reno (Patriots Country) New England has found multiple explosive plays in the passing game from one of the most unlikeliest of options, TE Pharaoh Brown.
• Nick O’Malley notes Bill O’Brien addressed why rookie WR Kenyon Boutte hasn’t been getting any playing time.
• Alex Barth reports the Patriots hosted two free agents for visits on Tuesday after opening up a roster spot earlier.
• Lauren Campbell highlights “Eye On Foxborough” podcast guest Devin McCourty, who told Karen Guregian he believes Bill Belichick should keep coaching until he wants to retire.
• Nick O’Malley tells us what he knows about the two NFL games in Germany: Can NFL fans tailgate in Frankfurt?
• Pats Procrastination podcast: Clare and Chudders talk the loss at Miami, the lack of trade deadline “action”, the Josh McDaniels firing from the Raiders and much more! (45 min.)

NATIONAL NEWS

• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Mac Jones: I really want to grow with young receivers.
• Zachary Pereles (CBS Sports) Commanders’ trade-deadline sale shows Josh Harris is ready to take team in new direction; Washington traded away both of its star defensive ends. /Pats play Commanders in Week 9.
• Jared Dubin, et al (CBS Sports) NFL trade deadline takeaways: All the biggest deals, most surprising moves and more. Patriots standing pat: After fielding calls on some of their young contract-year players like Josh Uche, Kyle Dugger, and Mike Onwenu, New England is standing pat at the deadline. The SI report also adds that the team never received any call on Mac Jones or Ezekiel Elliott.
• Jori Epstein (Yahoo! Sports) NFL trade deadline winners and losers: Eagles, 49ers pounce with eyes on Super Bowl
• Judy Battista (NFL.com) 2023 NFL trade deadline: Who are the biggest winners and losers?
• Bill Barnwell (ESPN) Josh McDaniels’ legacy of bad football and bad roster decisions: Why the Raiders moved on.
• Vincent Bonsignore (Las Vegas Review-Journal) Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler fired by Raiders.
• Jay Busbee (Yahoo! Sports) Brian Daboll pulled the Giants out of a ditch, then drove them right back into it.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) NFL believed it was “warranted” to place Walt Anderson in [Monday] night’s broadcast. “Still, the decision to activate the Anderson option opens Pandora’s box. Transparency can’t be selective. Random bursts of pulling back the curtain won’t suffice. Now, whenever there’s a controversial call and the network rules analysts says the officials got it wrong, the failure to mobilize Walt Anderson can fairly be characterized as implicit agreement by the league with whatever the rules analyst has said. It’s better to use it not at all than sparingly.” /I’ve said before, the problem is that not all games or teams are treated equally. That’s wrong.