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Patriots reported trade target Rashod Bateman.

The Patriots have a crowded wide-receiver room. That’s been one of the themes of the 2025 offseason, which saw the team add star WR1 Stefon Diggs, reliable veteran Mack Hollins and third-round rookie Kyle Williams to a group that already included well-liked Pop Douglas and Kendrick Bourne, plus two 2024 draftees, second-round pick Ja’Lynn Polk and fourth-rounder Javon Baker, and 2023 draftee Kayshon Boutte.

Throw in impressive undrafted signee Efton Chism, and it figures to be difficult for the team to work the roster down to six players.

Still, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that, before the Baltimore Ravens granted a $37 million extension to receiver Rashod Bateman last week, the Patriots were nosing around on a trade for him. Bateman recorded 756 yards receiving and nine touchdowns last season, his fourth in the NFL.

Patriots Had Interest in Bateman

Fowler indicated that the reason the Bateman-Ravens extension got done before Bateman could hit free agency next offseason was that other teams were showing interest. Here’s what he said:

“So this is fascinating. What led to the contract extension was that he was almost traded during this offseason because he went to the Ravens, wanted a new deal,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said on “NFL Live.“ “They essentially said no, but they gave him permission to seek a trade so he went out on the open market, talked to teams and I was told there were several involved, or had interest—Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers.

“So he saw he had a market. The Ravens saw that and said, ‘OK, we’ll just pay you instead. We won’t trade you.’”

It was a fascinating turn for Bateman who has often seemed on the outs from the Ravens after his career started with two injury-plagued years that threw his contract status out of whack, even though he had been a first-round pick, which would normally make him eligible for a fifth-year extension. That was not the case, though, because of Bateman’s injuries.

Terry McLaurin on the Trade Block?

But of bigger interest is the notion that the Patriots were still open to a trade for Bateman, presumably up until his signing last week.  That highlights one of the harsher realities about the team’s receiver depth–yes, there are a lot of names on the depth chart there, but no, they’re not necessarily good players. Clearly, the Patriots would like to get Diggs to clear No. 2 receiver to play opposite him.

In fact, at USA Today’s Patriots Wire, there was a notion that the interest in Bateman could yet signal potential interest in receiver Terry McLaurin, who may seek a trade if Washington does not give him a new contract.

Writes the site’s Danny Jaillet: “If the Patriots showed interest in Bateman, would they show interest in another wide receiver ahead of the 2025 season? It makes you wonder if they’d consider giving the Washington Commanders a call on veteran wideout Terry McLaurin, who is unhappy with his current deal.

“If anything, this proves the Patriots are still looking to be aggressive if the right opportunity presents itself.”

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney