The Patriots now have four players left from their 2024 draft class.<\/b>
\nThe Patriots are trading wide receiver Ja\u2019Lynn Polk and a 2028 seventh-round pick to the Saints for a 2027 sixth-rounder, a source confirmed to the Herald\u2019s Doug Kyed.
Polk was placed on season-ending injured reserve this summer after he sustained a shoulder injury in the Patriots\u2019 preseason opener.
The former second-round pick ends his New England tenure after recording just 12 catches, 87 receiving yards and two touchdowns last year. He also had four drops. Polk started seven of 15 game appearances in one of the worst statistical seasons for a rookie receiver in recent NFL history.
In a December interview with the Herald, Polk nonetheless expressed confidence in his ability to rebound.
\u201cI\u2019m 1,000 percent confident in myself and my ability and what I\u2019m able to do,\u201d Polk said. \u201cI work very hard, and I got great faith in my good lord. So, there\u2019s no question about my confidence. It\u2019s just waiting on my time, waiting on my turn and knowing that it\u2019s going to come and just being ready.\u201d
A month later, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf told FOX Sports the team put too much on Polk\u2019s plate as a rookie and believed he would make an immediate impact.
\u201cThe rookie receivers didn\u2019t have it really that much for us,\u201d Wolf said. \u201cAnd, you know, Polk was sort of in our estimation a plug-and-play. \u2026 Ultimately, to answer to your question, our record speaks for itself. We didn\u2019t do enough.\u201d
Sources later suggested Polk had struggled mentally as a rookie, unable to recover from drops and other mistakes.
Earlier this week, Polk suggested on social media he was open to a trade.
The 23-year-old entered this season on the bubble under new coach Mike Vrabel. He was one of five remaining picks from Wolf\u2019s debut draft class last year, along with quarterback Drake Maye, offensive lineman Caedan Wallace, offensive guard Layden Robinson and cornerback Marcellas Dial Jr. Robinson and Dial are currently on IR.
The Athletic\u2019s Dianna Russinni first reported Polk\u2019s trade to New Orleans.<\/p>\n