Offense has never been a problem for the New England Patriots this season, as the defending Super Bowl champ owns the third best point production per game at 29.6 ppg. However, with the trade deadline just around the corner, the Pats could stumble upon the opportunity to further improve their vaunted offense by exploring options on the trading front.

Perhaps, this will be the year where perennial target larry fitzgerald, the celebrated wideout of the Arizona Cardinals, finally joins fellow shoo-in Hall of Famer Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s gang of Super Bowl chasers in Foxborough.

Trade for Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald, 34, signed a one-year, $11 million deal to stay with the Cardinals last offseason. However, Arizona isn’t a contender, while the Patriots, despite a shaky 3-2 start, remain the favorite to come out of AFC and win their sixth Super Bowl crown in winter.

Again, the Patriots are still potent offensively with Brady showing everybody that he’s still one of the best in the business at age of 40. On the other hand, New England has been a subpar team defensively, allowing opponents to score more points than they ever had in previous years.

There’s no denying the Pats would need a key addition to their defensive lineup in order to keep themselves in Super Bowl hunt, but the prospect of adding a dynamic wideout like Fitzgerald could pique Belichick’s curiosity with roughly three weeks left before the NFL trade deadline.

Offensive line has to step up

While the Patriots defensive lineup had a breakthrough against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday, the team’s faltering offensive line got exposed once more. ESPN’s NFL writer Mike Reiss believes New England offensive linemen just don’t have the confidence they had last season.

“One NFL coach I spoke with noted that the team's tackles, Nate Solder (left) and Marcus Cannon (right), are not consistently playing as well as they have in the past, while also pointing out that teams have had some success directly over center David Andrews,” Reiss responds to a fan question.

Brady has been an easy target for linebackers and defensive linemen this season, already taking 32 hits and 16 sacks through the first five games. If the Patriots want their quarterback healthy for the postseason, they must find a way to limit the punishment Brady is absorbing every game. Despite showing no sign of slowing down as an offensive player, it doesn’t change the fact the Pats quarterback has a 40-year-old body.
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