If the Washington Commanders are actually interested in making Bill Belichick their next head coach, the New England Patriots should not only listen to their inquiry, but they should also try to facilitate a trade to make it happen.
In case you're wondering why that's even a sentence to begin with, there's apparently chatter in league circles that the Commanders “might attempt to essentially trade for Patriots coach Bill Belichick in 2024,” Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported.
Whether there's any validity to those chatters is anyone's guess at the moment. But if there is, there's more than enough reason for why the Patriots should try to make a deal happen.
Why the Patriots should try and negotiate a trade to send Bill Belichick to the Commanders
As the Patriots prepare to host the Commaners in Week 9, both historical franchises meet at low points in each of their recent histories. The Commanders at least got some positive buzz over the summer when Josh Harris bought the team from Dan Snyder, ending his tumultuous tenure as owner. But it's clear that Washington is trying to turn the page on Snyder's final chapter with the organization, trading away a pair of players that were thought to be members of their core for the foreseeable future ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline.
The Patriots, meanwhile, somehow have less talent than the Commanders, which is no surprise that they're 2-6 with a point differential of minus-90. More importantly, they're on pace to have their worst season in Belichick's 24 seasons at the helm and it doesn't like it's going to get better anytime soon.
New England didn't make any moves at the deadline despite receiving interestest for a few players who are in the final years of their rookie deals. Mac Jones has created more doubt this season that he can be the team's franchise quarterback moving forward as the offense is arguably the worst unit in the NFL.
There is some light at the end of the tunnel for the Patriots to get out of this mess. They're currently slated to have the No. 4 overall pick in next year's draft if the season were to end today. They're also projected to have the most cap space in the league next offseason.
But it's clear now, more than ever, that Belichick shouldn't be the guy who steers the Patriots out of that dark tunnel. The last time the Patriots were in a similar space, he made many decisions that led the Patriots to get back into that dark tunnel, but even further in it. When they had the most cap space in 2021, the Patriots went on a record spending spree. But the majority of the free agents they signed weren't hits, moving from players like Jonnu Smith and Nelson Agholor after two seasons. Matthew Judon was the only player from that group that's contributed in a major way while players like Hunter Henry and Davon Godchaux have shown spurts of good play, but the team hasn't really utilized them in the correct ways.
Later in that offseason, the Patriots selected Jones with the No. 15 overall pick, making him the fifth quarterback drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Jones isn't entirely at fault with how his Patriots' tenure has gone, but he's shown that he just isn't that guy. More importantly, Belichick has shown that he can't pick a quarterback and build the right offense for him. He put in two defensive coaches to run the offense last season and has watched the offense bleed talent over the last three years, letting veterans like Joe Thuney and Jakobi Meyers walk out the door for whatever reasons.
Those constant misfirings are why the Patriots are where they are at the moment: dead last in the AFC entering Week 9. Do we really think this is going to get any better anytime soon with Belichick at the helm? Is there anything that he's shown since Tom Brady left in 2020 that shows this team is on the correct trajectory to get back to the winning ways they were accustomed to for much of the last two decades?
The answer is no. And if you think that having Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon on the field would drastically make a difference, you're sorely mistaken. This offense is just so, so bad and it's clear that Belichick can't coach nor field an offense suited for the modern game.
So, getting any compensation for a guy who should honestly lose his job at season's end is a plus-plus for New England.
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