The Patriots are coming off an up-and-down victory in Miami, where New England ultimately came away with a divisional win.

That victory improved their record to 5-3, as they prepare to host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Gillette. This also is the last full week before the trade deadline, which falls next week on Nov. 10.

For several reasons, this will be a big week for the big picture of the 2026 season for the Patriots, so let's get into the mailbag questions.

Editor's note: Questions have been lightly edited for clarity.

"Hi Phil! How should the Patriots approach the trade deadline? I feel like they're too hurt to really compete, so I would keep the focus in the future. Sell older/expiring players and acquire younger depth" - @puumalainen

I find this conversation to be fascinating, SettiEinari. You might ultimately be proven right. At the moment, they might be too hurt to make a real run. 

But the postseason is still two months away. There's time to get guys healthy. That's how I'd be looking at it, at least. 

Given the way Drake Maye is playing right now, given the way the defense has played in spurts, given that the Patriots still could get Mack Hollins, Romeo Doubs and A.J. Brown back on the field, why not treat this season as one where they can make another real run?

Additionally, that maybe-they'll-eventually-get-healthy-at-key-spots conversation doesn't even factor in what's happening with the rest of the conference. It's wide open. 

The Chiefs have an excellent record and an all-time quarterback, but they don't have the weaponry -- barring a big swing at the deadline -- to win it all. Buffalo's defense could ultimately hold them back. The same could be true for Jacksonville's inexperience, both on the field and on the sideline. Denver looks like a team on the rise since transferring play-calling duties back to head coach Sean Payton, but I wouldn't be selling at the deadline based on some fear that containing Bo Nix is some kind of late-season impossibility. 

I understand wanting to both contend and bolster your collection of draft picks. That makes everybody -- ownership, front office, coaches, players -- happy. But it's also an incredibly challenging needle to thread. Looking to acquire draft capital while also maintaining a high-end roster that can win in January feels like the kind of approach where attempting to serve two masters means you're not really serving either. 

To answer your question, I'd be looking to add. Nothing gargantuan. I wouldn't be giving away Day 1 or Day 2 picks in the process -- I don't believe they will be, either -- and that would be my nod toward the future. I'm not taking away from my coffer of valuable future draft choices. But I would be willing to part with lesser picks to add some depth. 

Where? On the edge or at defensive tackle. A veteran linebacker would be worthy of a look, as would a tight end. My belief is they'll be OK on the offensive line -- more on that in a moment -- and they have enough at receiver in terms of reinforcements coming where I wouldn't be desperate to add there either. 

Albert Breer on the Patriots potentially shopping Christian Barmore and Carlton Davis ahead of the trade deadline

"If Christian Barmore is traded and they get a pick, will they still try and sign a replacement for him? I'm assuming they are playing for the now and the future." - @hsad1234180681

Let's see, hsad. Our pal Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated has reported that the Patriots would be looking to part with Christian Barmore for a Day 3 pick. That's the kind of move that wouldn't necessarily make their roster better -- as inconsistent as Barmore can be at times -- so I'm not sure that's a move I'd be dying to pull off. 

Barmore has no guaranteed money left on his deal after this season, though, and he has fallen off in terms of his snap count to the point where it's worth wondering if the Patriots want him around for 2027 and beyond. This feels like the kind of trade, if it happens, where the Patriots are simply looking to recoup a pick for a player they plan to part ways with next season anyway.

The Patriots trade candidate that would make even less sense to me would be Carlton Davis. That's another name Breer mentioned as a potential trade chip recently. He, like Barmore, has no guaranteed money left on his deal after this season. Would the Patriots be jumping at the chance to re-sign him ahead of his age 31 season? And for how much, especially when he's in and out of the lineup due to injury?

But even if the Patriots aren't certain they want him after this season, Davis is a key piece to the operation this year. Their identity defensively is as a man-to-man coverage unit that likes to blitz. They're excellent at both. Without Davis, though, they become significantly worse in that first category. 

Should they trade Davis in the next week only to see the Bengals (with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins), the Jags (with Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers) or the Bills (with Dalton Kincaid and DJ Moore) in the postseason with a shorthanded-of-their-own-volition group of corners incapable of manning up consistently with two good pass-catchers, they'd have only themselves to blame. The juice, as they say, doesn't seem worth the squeeze if the return is going to be a mid-round pick.

"The Patriots got lucky with the injuries last year and this year they are being hit hard by them. Do you think in the offseason the Patriots will look at changing either their strength and conditioning coach or the way they approach their preseason games regarding the starters?" -- @patriots_harley

I don't think so, George. I'm sure they are learning a great deal about their own guys and how they need to be managed -- a certain No. 1 receiver springs to mind -- but this is also the same group of trainers and strength coaches who were with the team throughout the 2024 offseason and oversaw a team that was tremendously healthy.

If they were running into soft-tissue injury after soft-tissue injury, that would be one thing. (Alijah Vera-Tucker's hamstring injury that landed him on IR looked like it was due to a flukey player-on-player hit rather than a non-contact issue that popped up as a result of dehydration or something else preventable.) This just feels like bad luck.

"Have the Patriots found a stabilizing force for their OL in guard Matt Pryor? When AVT returns, can an interior line of Tucker, Jared Wilson and Pryor keep Maye upright?" -- @qualitysmoke

Matt Pryor has been a quality fill-in, QS. Out of 82 qualifying guards, he's actually Pro Football Focus' top-graded pass-blocker. He's allowed three pressures in three games and he's been flagged for one penalty. Not bad. He had some background with the Patriots coaching staff prior to his arrival -- he and assistant offensive line coach Jason Houghtaling were in Chicago together in 2024 -- and his transition to a new scheme has been relatively seamless.

"I’d like your feeling on moving up and drafting Charlie Becker. He is the perfect fit for Drake and the Patriots. Sub-4.4 speed, 6-foot-,4, 210 pounds, strong frame, no drops in his college career, can lineup outside and slot, great route runner, great at contested catches, loves to block. No. 1 receiver." -- @ron18787996

I like where your head's at, Ron. We highlighted Becker, Indiana's top wideout, on a recent edition of Next Pats for all the reasons you mention. 

The only problem? With each passing week, he's looking more and more like a top-10 pick. 

One of my favorite "big board" sites is NFL Mock Draft Database. And, no, I promise the fact they highlighted my 2026 mock as the most accurate has nothing to do with me linking to their address here. Seriously. They're great. The best. But they have Becker as the No. 8 player in the draft at the moment.

Even if he's worthy of a trade up, I'm not sure the Patriots would find it prudent (or possible) to trade from somewhere in the mid-to-late 20s to jump into the top 10 and nab him. We'll see. Long way to go before the spring.

"Odds they activate Mack Hollins this week?" -- @travlikespats

Feels like he's getting closer, Trav. He traveled with the team this past weekend, which typically signals a player is working his way back to being on a prepping-to-play kind of schedule. 

"Phil, with the infrequent but high success rate on deep attempts to Kyle Williams, why aren't the Pats trying this type of play more often in games? If nothing else, we'll draw more DPI and also force defenses to adjust." -- @edonleep

The Patriots (34 deep attempts) aren't afraid to push the ball down the field, Eric. They trail only the Packers (46) and Giants (36) in terms of their deep passing attempts that travel at least 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. But there are a few elements at play that have limited Williams' opportunities. Even with injuries at that position, he only averages 23.4 snaps per game, and he's behind Brown, Doubs and Hollins on the depth chart as an outside-the-numbers option when all are healthy.

The other factor is protection, which has been solid lately. But it's hard to ask an offensive line with multiple backups in the lineup to hold up for Maye to drop back and launch javelins more than five or six times a game.

Williams has been extremely productive on a per-target basis. And he might be worthy of a few more tries. But ramping up those numbers in a meaningful way may lead to diminishing returns for a quarterback who is already -- at least over the last five weeks -- arguably the most efficient quarterback in football.

"How do you see the RB snaps distributed when all are healthy? I would think Rhamondre Stevenson, then Corey Kiner before TreVeyon Henderson." -- @Cmerc5

I'd be on board with that, Chris. I think Kiner has earned a continued role. He does a nice job of timing up his runs so that he has the ability to have a feel for where holes are developing at the line of scrimmage. Then he runs hard and seems to pick up whatever is there for him. 

I wouldn't completely put TreVeyon Henderson on ice, since schemed touches for him have the potential to yield explosive plays, but on a snap-to-snap basis he hasn't been all that consistent when it comes to keeping the Patriots offense on schedule with his downhill runs. Among 46 qualifying backs, he's 40th in EPA per carry between the tackles this season, per Next Gen Stats.