Ahead of their Week 18 game, the New England Patriots currently hold the rights to the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. And on Tuesday, the organization made a move to potentially ensure that they hold onto this highly coveted draft spot with a loss in Week 18.
While players on the field are undoubtedly trying their hardest in every NFL game since their jobs are on the line every week, there are certainly plenty of people behind the scenes who understand how valuable a top draft pick is and actively do what they can to ensure
Call it tanking or call it good strategy. But over the years, countless teams have enacted this strategy to ensure their future as an organization.
On Tuesday, it seems like the organization may have made a move that could be seen as a tanking strategy, cutting former Pro Bowler Yannick Ngakoue with just one week left in the season according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Ngakoue was on just a one-year deal with the organization and is set to become a free agent this coming offseason.
So potentially, higher-ups within the Patriots’ organization maybe didn’t want to see Ngakoue make big plays in the game.
Regardless of the logistics behind the move, it’s perhaps somewhat surprising that the Patriots didn’t want to keep Ngakoue around for the future.
While Ngakoue didn’t produce all that much in his six games as a Patriot, he does have plenty of experience of success when put in the right role.
Famously, Ngakoue reached the Pro Bowl in just his second NFL season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. And while he hasn’t quite ever lived up to that season since, he has still been productive in most of his stops around the NFL over the years.
Perhaps the Patriots just wasn’t the right role for him. So he will now look to find a new home next season unless he is surprisingly picked up before the start of the postseason.
