Patriots rumors: New England may have leaked Jordan Matthews' release in attempt to trade him

The New England Patriots may have been trying to lure in trade suitors for wide receiver Jordan Matthews before putting him on injured reserve.

The New England Patriots on Wednesday were reportedly moving to release veteran wide receiver Jordan Matthews a few days after he suffered a hamstring injury over the weekend.

However, Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network has revealed that the team has since placed Matthews on the injured reserve due to the injury that will end his season unless he's able to prove he can return to the field he could sign elsewhere. According to Pro Football Talk, it appears that the Patriots had leaked out a potential release to push another team to make a trade for him potentially.

Looks like the Pats leaked they were releasing Jordan Matthews in the hopes of getting someone to trade for him, despite bad hamstring.

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) August 1, 2018

The Patriots had inked Matthews to a one-year, $1 million deal earlier this offseason in free agency in hopes he could latch onto the team in a significant role after losing Danny Amendola to Miami Dolphins and later Brandin Cooks in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams. Instead, his tenure with the team looks to have ended before it even got started as he suffered a severe hamstring injury in training camp.

Before his one-year stint with the Buffalo Bills, Matthews had proven to be a reliable option in the passing game in his first three years with the Philadelphia Eagles. During that tenure, he notched at least 65 catches for 800 receiving yards and a total of 19 touchdowns over that span that elevated him to one of the primary receiving options for the Eagles. This recent development with this injury puts a bit of a damper on the entire situation with his season likely done unless he makes a significant recovery over the next few months.

New England will now move forward with their receiving core by relying on other offseason addition in Cordarrelle Patterson while both Kenny Britt and Phillip Dorsett will likely take on more significant roles even more so with Julian Edelman out of the lineup for the first four games to a suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy.