Throughout Bill Belichick’s tenure with the Patriots, it wasn’t often that the head coach and general manager pulled off blockbuster trades for top-name players who fans hoped to see suit up with the team. It’s partly what led to Tom Brady’s departure in 2020, as he had been dealing with a lackluster offense to work with while working toward another Super Bowl win.
The 2019 was especially tough, with Antonio Brown only lasting a single game, the trade for Mohamed Sanu looking like a mistake, and Josh Gordon continuing to deal with off the field issues that impacted his availability.
Then there was the less than ideal situation with N’Keal Harry, who Belichick chose to use a first-round pick on despite the other options who have fared much better in the NFL. And to make matters worse, it was the first season post-Rob Gronkowkski, who unexpectedly retired in the offseason.
It was a tough road for Brady, who became increasingly frustrated with how the season was progressing. It didn’t look like Belichick was trying too hard to surround the legendary quarterback with the caliber of talent needed, and while that still might be true, a new revelation has come to light about a trade the head coach inquired about in 2019.
Adam Thielen says the Patriots called the Vikings about a trade
One of the most memorable Belichick moments throughout the 20+ years he spent in New England was the sideline shout-off with Vikings receiver Adam Thielen in 2018.
The usually quiet player took issue with Belichick’s decision to delay the game by having Patrick Chung fake an injury. This allowed the Patriots to take more time to view the replay before inevitably challenging the spot of the football.
Because New England was winning the game 24-10 during the fourth quarter, Thielen expressed his frustration directly to Belichick, resulting in the viral heated moment between the two. Although it was widely speculated that this wrote off any possibility of Thielen ending up a Patriot, he revealed on the “Pardon My Take” podcast that he did, in fact, call Minnesota about his availability via trade.
“I believe going into that next offseason, (Belichick) had reached out to the (Vikings) about, you know, possibly trading for me, trying to get me to come there. So it must have been like a good impression, he must have liked that kind of tenacity or competitiveness.”
In hindsight, it’s interesting to hear about this because, based on their interaction during that game, it seemed easy to assume Belichick would have no tolerance for a guy like Thielen. But this proves that the head coach was actively looking to improve the team’s receiving corps, even if Thielen wasn’t exactly the type of player they needed at the time.
It also makes you question what other trades he might have inquired about throughout his time in Foxboro, ones that we may have never heard about. Perhaps there are more big name players he looked into to help Brady make the offense that much better, similar to what he did when trading for Randy Moss in 2007.
We’ll probably never know at this point unless more players reveal details like Thielen did. Or if Belichick shares the information himself.
