ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 04: Head coach Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots reacts after a play against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium on October 04, 2026 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) Getty
The New England Patriots are gearing up for their Week 8 action, which will see them square off against the Miami Dolphins in an important divisional matchup. After coming up just short in Week 7 against the Chicago Bears, the Patriots are going to be intent on finding a way to get back in the win column when they return to action.
With the trade deadline quickly approaching, teams across the league are beginning to make moves, and with so many injuries plaguing this group, folks have been wondering whether or not New England has anything up its sleeve. While it isn't a trade, a recent report indicates that the front office tried to scoop up former Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Jonah Laulu after his recent release.
The Raiders selected Laulu in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and he actually managed to quickly carve out a role for himself on defense. Over his first two seasons, Laulu appeared in all 34 games (22 starts) for Las Vegas, racking up 86 total tackles and five sacks during his time on the field.
With a new coaching regime in town, though, Laulu fell out of favor with the Raiders this year, as he played sparingly in five games, picking up just five tackles and 0.5 sacks. As a result, the team opted to release him ahead of Week 8 in a somewhat surprising move, with teams quickly flocking to him and trying to find a way to add him to their roster.
One of those teams was the Patriots, who have been looking for reinforcements along their defensive line for weeks. New England ended up putting in a claim for Laulu, but it ended up missing out on him, thanks to the fact that the Tennessee Titans (who successfully landed him) had higher waiver priority than them.
Sources: The Jets, Colts, Patriots, Dolphins and Texans all put in claims for former Raiders DT Jonah Laulu . But the Titans landed him because they had the highest waiver priority," NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported in a post on X.
GettyORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 04: Head coach Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots reacts after a play against the Buffalo Bills during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium on October 04, 2026 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
Considering how many teams put in claims for Laulu, it ultimately isn't much of a surprise to see that the Pats missed out on him here. However, this does show that the front office is looking for ways to reinforce its roster, with the defensive line being viewed as one of the team's top needs ahead of the trade deadline.
New England will hopefully get healthy as the season progresses, but there is no guarantee that will happen. As a result, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team continue exploring ways to bring new faces to town over the coming weeks. In the meantime, the team will return to action on Sunday afternoon at 4:25 p.m. ET for their aforementioned clash with the Dolphins.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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