The Patriots have had some success with trades in the last couple of years and coach Bill Belichick said on Monday that the team is open to making a deal before the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline passes on Tuesday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that one player on their radar is Titans cornerback Jason McCourty. The interest makes sense given the way the Patriots have shuffled the decks at cornerback this season and Belichick’s past acquisitions of players who went to Rutgers, although there’s an even better reason for the Patriots to make the deal.
That reason would be the presence of safety Devin McCourty in their secondary, of course. The McCourtys are twin brothers, which would give Belichick a whole new way to stress the minds of opposing coaches who might find themselves wondering which McCourty is wearing which uniform come Sunday.
Unfortunately, Rapoport adds that a deal appears unlikely at the moment. Jason McCourty missed the first three games of the season with a groin injury, but has returned for the last four games to help the Titans be one of the league’s more effective teams against the pass. That’s been worth little to their record or Ken Whisenhunt’s job security, but it may be enough for the Titans to resist the chance to reunite the McCourty brothers.