Eliot Wolf is on the lookout. New England’s GM dropped the line every fanbase dreams of hearing: he’s ready to ship out a first- or second-round pick for the right big-name. With just one preseason game and a week before they finalise their roster, Wolf is ready to get a big name for the team.

Wolf obviously didn’t drop names, but there are a couple of names that are doing the rounds in the league. “Just doing what’s best for the team. If there’s a player out there we feel can help us, and it costs that, then we would do that.” said Wolf. Patriots also want to build a great offense for Drake Maye. “We’re talking to all 31 teams and trying to do what’s best for us,” Wolf said. “I think those things are often a lot more complicated than the fans and some others would like to make you believe. But if there is something we think can help us, we’d definitely be open to it.” Currently, no one is expecting much from the Patriots in terms of the championship or Super Bowl run. With only winning 8 games from their last 35, the expectations aren’t that high.

Line that up with the reality of Mike Vrabel’s first year in Foxborough. Hired back in January, Vrabel was brought in to bring back toughness and identity. The same formula he leaned into back in Tennessee. Only this time, that blueprint has to mesh with a second-year QB in Drake Maye, who’s coming off a good rookie season. In the last week of finalising the roster, Vrabel might still be holding out for better options.

On paper, the Patriots already landed their headliner. They went out and signed Stefon Diggs. Before tearing his ACL, he put up 47 grabs for 496 yards and 3 TDs in just eight games with Houston last year. Terry McLaurin, with Washington’s contract standoff still dragging into late August, the league’s favorite thought experiment suddenly feels a little too real in Foxborough. And that’s where McLaurin comes in. Washington’s star is fresh off an 82-catch, 1,096-yard season with a career-best 13 touchdowns, though he hasn’t practised this season yet. The kind of production New England flat-out didn’t have last year. Put him across from Diggs, and suddenly Drake Maye’s margin for error shifts overnight.

But there’s a depth question. For Vrabel, the math isn’t simple. He needs instant juice in the passing game, but he also needs those draft picks to keep fixing a roster that, just last year, managed only 18 passing touchdowns and gave up 52 sacks. Does this team need a big name more than depth? The Patriots want to see what they have, especially opposite Harold Landry, with White, Chaisson, and Swinson all battling for snaps. Their receiver corps won’t intimidate anyone and likely needs help next offseason, but handing a 30-year-old like McLaurin $30 million annually seems reckless—even with cap space to spare. Getting a big name might disrupt Vrabel’s plan, considering it’s an ongoing project for the coming years.

There’s another question that Mike Vrabel needs to answer. Is losing the 1st or 2nd draft pick for McLaurin worth it?  There is no right and wrong here, it’s just about Vrabel’s priorities. We can imagine all kinds of things, but how likely is it for McLaurin to depart from the Commanders?

How likely is McLaurin to depart?

Here’s where it gets interesting: Washington. McLaurin dropped a trade request earlier this month while hunting for a new deal in his final contract year. He’s ready to move on. The Commanders are playing it cool publicly—insisting he’s not going anywhere. But if those contract talks hit a wall by Week 1, don’t be surprised if they start listening to offers.

So what’s really behind the stalemate? Reports out of D.C. say Washington has framed the team’s position as reluctant to pay for past performance, a stance that’s only cranked up the hold-in drama and trade buzz. And yet, they pulled McLaurin off PUP last weekend, a pretty clear signal they still expect him to suit up and deliver while the contract tug-of-war drags on.

But the writing’s on the wall. The star hasn’t practiced all month since requesting the trade, was a no-show again for the Bengals game, and didn’t even bother making an appearance. One thing’s crystal clear: he’s not backing down. He gets what he wants, or he’s gone.

And Terry McLaurin himself keeps making the case with his stat line. On top of that, five straight 1,000-yard seasons. For Washington, that’s the kind of production you don’t just swap out. For New England, that’s the exact profile they’ve been missing since Brady’s prime targets were in town. But they’ll have to empty their pockets. That’s all we can say for sure.