Five Rb Trade Candidates For Patriots To Jump-start Sluggish Run Game

Five RB trade candidates for Patriots to jump-start sluggish run game originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots are riding high.

At 4-2, they own the top spot in the AFC East for the first time since 2021. They have the NFL’s easiest remaining schedule by a wide margin. (Their opponents have a combined winning percentage of .308, and just three of their 11 remaining games are against teams with winning records.) And they’re led by an ascending young quarterback in Drake Maye who has thrust himself into the early NFL MVP discussion with his strong play.

This team still has one glaring weakness, though: its rushing attack.

The Patriots rank 29th in the NFL in yards per rush (3.5), 30th in expected points added (EPA) per rush (-0.18) and 31st in rushing success rate (36.7 percent). Their top two running backs, Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, are the two worst rushers in football according to Pro Football Focus, ranking 55th and 54th, respectively, out of 55 qualified backs.

While Henderson has upside as a rookie, Stevenson is trending swiftly in the wrong direction. After fumbling twice in Week 3 vs. Pittsburgh and again in Week 5 in Buffalo, Stevenson appears to be prioritizing ball security over explosive gains; he’s averaged a putrid 1.4 yards per carry in his last two games, gaining just 28 yards on 20 attempts.

Maye has bailed the Patriots out in recent weeks with some terrific performances, but if Mike Vrabel’s club wants to push for a playoff spot, it needs an effective run game. And with the most cap space in the NFL (just over 54 million, per OverTheCap), New England has the resources to acquire a running back ahead of the Nov. 4 NFL trade deadline.

So, who should be on the Patriots’ radar? Here’s a list of names to monitor over the next few weeks.

Breece Hall, New York Jets

In case you’re wondering whether Hall wants out of New York, he captioned his latest Instagram post with the hashtag #Free20. The question is whether the 0-6 Jets would trade Hall to a division rival, but the Patriots at least should make the call, as ESPN’s Mike Reiss noted Tuesday morning.

Hall has been a bit feast-or-famine this season, with two 100-yards games under his belt as well as two games of under 30 rushing yards. He boasts plenty of talent, however (4.6 career yards per rush) and also is a receiving threat after catching at total of 133 passes for 1,074 yards between the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

The Saints reportedly have fielded calls about Kamara, and while the star running back doesn’t want to be traded, every team has a price.

Even at age 30, Kamara remains one of the best dual-threat backs in the league; he’s topped 1,100 total yards in all eight of his NFL seasons to date and racked up 1,453 total yards (950 rushing; 543 receiving) last season. We’d imagine Josh McDaniels would have plenty of fun with a Kamara-Henderson duo in the backfield.

Devin Singletary, New York Giants

Singletary certainly isn’t as exciting as the two names above. But if the Patriots want a solid, early-down back without breaking the bank, the 28-year-old is worth considering.

Singletary rushed for at least 800 yards in three straight seasons from 2021 to 2023 before joining a Giants team with serious offensive line issues in 2024. With rookie Cam Skattebo taking over as New York’s top rusher and Tyrone Tracy Jr. behind him, Singletary is an obvious trade candidate and could benefit from a change of scenery.

Jerome Ford, Cleveland Browns

If the 1-5 Browns want to sell, Ford is a name worth watching with rookie Quinshon Judkins at the top of the RB depth chart.

The fourth-year running back has been bottled up this season in Cleveland’s dysfunctional offense, but he averaged 5.4 yards per carry in 2024 (565 yards on 104 carries) and has one fumble in 336 career attempts. Ford would be in the Singletary mold of a dependable early-down back who could be had at relatively low cost.

Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins

We’ve entered the “take a flyer” portion of the program. The Dolphins’ fourth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Tennessee, Wright is buried on Miami’s depth chart behind De’Von Achane and Ollie Gordon III, so it’s no surprise that ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently listed Wright as a potential trade candidate.

Wright has strong physical traits — he ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, and NFL Network draft analyst Lance Zierlein compared him to Melvin Gordon — so if Miami is willing to trade him within the AFC East, perhaps he’d thrive with a fresh start in New England.