After dropping their Week 7 Monday night game to the Chicago Bears, the New England Patriots do not look like a serious contender in the AFC East.

As a result, the Patriots are getting calls prior to the November 1 trade deadline about several key players. They include safety Jabrill Peppers and running back Damien Harris.

Peppers signed a free-agent deal with the Patriots in the offseason, and he has played in all seven games this season. The defensive back has been credited with 20 tackles thus far and he has also recovered a fumble. Peppers spent the last three seasons with the New York Giants, and his best season was 2020 when he recorded 91 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 11 passes defensed and 1 interception.

Harris has carried the ball 60 times for 265 yards and 3 touchdowns and also has 9 receptions for 32 yards. Harris is coming off a 2021 season in which he had 202 carries for 929 yards and an eye-catching 15 touchdowns.

A previous report indicated that the head coach Bill Belichick had also received calls on wide receivers Jakobi Meyers, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne.

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The 3-4 Patriots find themselves in last place in the division, and a playoff berth appears unlikely. The team lacks the consistency and talent that they had in the team's glory years.

New England faces the New York Jets on the road Sunday, and the Pats are favored by 2 1/2 points over their long-time rival. The Patriots have defeated the Jets in 12 consecutive meetings, and they own a 71-54-1 advantage in the series.

The Patriots are going through something of a quarterback controversy, and head coach Belichick announced that Mac Jones would get the start over Bailey Zappe.