The Patriots stood, well, pat at the trade deadline this week , seemingly prioritizing the future rather than the present, despite a 7-2 record and a wide open AFC.

Tied with the Colts and Broncos for the best record in the conference, New England has a real chance to be the No. 1 seed in the postseason.

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Our own Karen Guregian wondered if that was a mistake :

The Patriots weren’t unwilling to deal, it just had to be the right deal.

They were trying to come down somewhere in the middle where th

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