Patriots Acquire Another Linebacker At The Trade Deadline

By Gregory Hunt

Just before the NFL trade deadline arrived Tuesday afternoon, the New England Patriots added another linebacker to its roster by acquiring Jonathan Casillas from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for New England’s fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft. The Patriots also acquired a sixth-round pick from Tampa Bay as a part of the deal. Offensive lineman Chris Barker was released by the Patriots to make room on the roster for Casillas. The trade comes just one week after New England acquired another linebacker, Akeem Ayers, from the Tennessee Titans. A pair of draft picks were exchanged in that deal, as well. 

This season, the Patriots’ linebacking corps has been decimated by injuries. Starter Jerod Mayo and rookies Cameron Gordon and James Morris are all on the injured reserve list, while starters Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower have both missed games with injuries. This has forced the coaching staff to do quite a bit of juggling at the linebacker position, not unlike what they’ve had to do this year with the offensive line.

Casillas began his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints in 2009 as a rookie free agent. With the Saints, he played in Super Bowl XLIV where he recovered a New Orleans onside kick to open up the second half. The Saints went on to beat the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. In 2013, he signed with the Buccaneers as an unrestricted free agent. He played 12 games in his first season with Tampa Bay before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He came back to play five games this year, including three starts.

The Patriots hope they can get an immediate contribution from Casillas like they received from Ayers in his New England debut last Sunday. Against the Chicago Bears, Ayers participated in five tackles including a sack of quarterback Jay Cutler. Tennessee picked Ayers in the second round of the 2011 draft, so if he can stay healthy, perhaps the Patriots will start seeing the second-round talent that the Titans never saw.

Barring any setbacks regarding their current injuries, Collins (thigh) and Hightower (knee) should both start in next Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. If neither Casillas nor Ayers get the nod for the third linebacker position, that job will likely go to rookie Deontae Skinner, who has made 16 tackles and one sack in seven games this season. The only other healthy linebacker on New England’s active roster is Chris White, who plays primarily on special teams.

The Patriots currently have two more linebackers on the practice squad — Darius Fleming, a third-year player from Notre Dame that was originally drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 2012, and Ja’Gared Davis, an SMU product that was originally signed as a rookie free agent by the Houston Texans in 2013. Fleming has yet to see an action in an NFL game, but Davis has played four games in the past two seasons for the Patriots during brief stints on the active roster.

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Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He’s also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women’s college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on Examiner.com.