Patriots traded Ja’Lynn Polk to Saints in part due to ‘football character’ – NBC Sports Boston

There’s no question about it: The Patriots whiffed on Ja’Lynn Polk.

New England traded Polk to the New Orleans Saints on Saturday. The Patriots acquired a 2027 sixth-round pick in exchange for Polk and a 2028 seventh-round pick, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. Terms of the trade were not confirmed by the team.

The second-year wide receiver was selected 37th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

“It’s about as small a return as you can get, and this is really just a flat miss,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said on Patriots Pregame Live before a Week 2 matchup against the Dolphins on Sunday.

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel told radio broadcaster Scott Zolak the franchise felt it was best to give Polk a fresh start. Polk was placed on season-ending injured reserve and thus was not eligible to play for the Patriots this season.

Breer’s insights aligned with Vrabel’s comments, and also included noteworthy detail.

“This just got to the point where they were hopeful that he would come back in a better place than he had been in 2024, and they still saw a backup player out there on the practice field even before he got hurt,” Breer said.

“I think where they feel like they really missed — this isn’t a bad guy, so it’s not a personal character thing. I want to make sure I emphasize that,” Breer continued. “But the football character wasn’t exactly what they thought it would be.”

The University of Washington product bragged about having “the best hands in the league” during his rookie season. He finished the year catching 12 of the 33 passes thrown his way for a mere 87 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games. When Polk stepped to the microphone in training camp this summer, he said he didn’t learn anything from his rookie season and instead was putting it in the rearview.

“He didn’t dig himself out of that hole,” Breer said. “They started to view him as more of a backup and then the question became, ‘Do we just cut bait now or do we keep chasing a mistake and maybe create a situation where you’re not giving other players some opportunity?’ And, of course, that issue is exacerbated by the fact that they missed on another receiver in Javon Baker.”

Baker initially made New England’s 53-man roster, but was one of the ensuing cuts after the Patriots claimed a few players off waivers. Baker signed with the Eagles practice squad after being released.

Breer dropped a Baker-related nugget of information, as well.

The Patriots entered Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft planning to draft wide receiver Troy Franklin out of Oregon, Breer said. New England had the third pick in the fourth round. However, the Broncos traded in front of the Patriots and selected Franklin right in front of New England. The Patriots drafted offensive lineman Layden Robinson with their initial fourth-round pick (No. 103) and circled back at wide receiver and selected Baker later in the fourth round (No. 110).

Neither Robinson nor Baker remain in New England while Franklin is a starting wide receiver in Denver.

Another aspect that makes matters worse for the Patriots is the fact two of Polk’s college teammates are flourishing in the league. The Bears selected Rome Odunze with the No. 9 pick and the Buccaneers drafted Jalen McMillan with the 92nd overall pick. The Patriots bypassed McMillan, as well as others like Chargers star Ladd McConkey, and instead drafted Polk.

“A lot of people in the NFL viewed Ja’Lynn Polk the same way he Patriots did — tough, smart, high football IQ, a guy that maybe doesn’t have the highest ceiling in the world but was going to be able to play right way and be a role player for a long, long time to come in the NFL,” Breer said. “Obviously, it did not play out that way.”

After trading Polk, only two members (Drake Maye, Caedan Wallace) of the 2024 eight-player draft class are on New England’s active roster.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}