The New England Patriots play the Green Bay Packers

in prime time and the Packers are much N'Keal Harry Jersey Patriots , much healthier. Apparently, there’s been a wave of illness sweeping Foxborough, leaving numerous players sidelined or affected.For the Patriots, at least DE Deatrich Wise Jr. (illness) returned to practice in full capacity and was removed from the injury report.Here’s the report from Thursday.Did Not PracticeGronkowski was absent on Thursday, which is concerning. Hopefully he’ll return on Friday and that he was only receiving maintenance, but it’s clear that the All Pro tight end has been dealing with some serious injuries. Hopefully he’s okay in the long term.Mason is the Patriots starting right guard and he’s missed the past two practices. Ted Karras is likely to start in his place, but if Schwenke and Marcus Cannon remain sidelined then the Patriots will only have Cole Croston to back-up all five positions on the offensive line.Limited ParticipationEdelman and Hollister returned to practice, which is extremely important if Gronkowski is unable to play. Edelman is the engine of the passing attack and Hollister would be called upon to replace Gronk in the lineup. Still, this is a lengthy injury report for New England.Both Perry and Whitehead returned to practice for the Packers.Full ParticipationTwo of the more important Packers are fully back in action. A look back at some of the trades that have made the Patriots so great."Bill Belichick has long been considered one of the best drafters in the NFL. One of the reasons he has been so successful is his willingness to trade picks — he views them as assets, and will take a player if he thinks the value is good, otherwise, he won’t hesitate to move back, never fearing the players they might miss out on. The draft is simply part of his plan, which is, and always will be, to make the team better. Belichick has made at least one trade in every draft since 2001. Let’s take a look back at some of his most successful draft weekend trades. It’s important to note that this list will only include deals made during the draft, so trades like the ones for Aqib Talib and Josh Gordon are not included. 2001 DraftTraded: Picks #39 and #173Received: Matt Light and pick #112One of Belichick’s first draft day trades with the Patriots turned out to be a great one. Technically, it took two trades to get Matt Light, but you get the point. Belichick traded #39 to Pittsburg for #50 and #112. Then, while Light was on the phone with the Jets, who were drafting at #49, Belichick packaged #50 and #173 to move up to draft Light 48th overall. Not only did he draft an excellent left tackle, and eventual Patriots Hall of Famer, but he got to screw over the Jets while doing it. It doesn’t get much better than that. 2003 DraftTraded: Drew Bledsoe, Tebucky Jones, Picks #19, #75, and #193Received: Ty Warren, Eugene Wilson, Dan Klecko, Vince Wilfork, Tully Banta-Cain Youth N'Keal Harry Jersey , and Corey DillonTwo first round trades here. Also, I know I just told you I wasn’t including non-Draft weekend trades, and here I am talking about Drew Bledsoe and Tebucky Jones. The reason why is because they acquired #14 from the Bills for him and they used that pick, along with #193 to move up to #13 and take Ty Warren. Then, they traded their other first rounder (#19) to Baltimore for #41 and a 2004 first round pick. They then packaged #41 with #75 to move up and take Eugene Wilson, and acquired Dan Klecko in the process. With the 2004 pick, they took Big Vince Wilfork. You’re talking about two players that were huge on the defensive line for the Pats, and Wilson played a good chunk of snaps at safety as well. They also traded Tebucky Jones to the Saints for #78, #238, and a 2004 fourth rounder. They then traded #78, a third round pick, to Miami for a 2004 second rounder (#56), which they sent to Cincinnati in exchange for Corey Dillon, who only went on to set the record for rushing yards in a season by a Patriot. They also selected Tully Banta-Cain with #238, and he was an important edge rusher and special teamer for years. 2007 DraftTraded: Pick #28Received: Randy Moss and Jerod MayoThe Patriots dealt #28 to San Francisco in exchange for a fourth round pick (#110) and a 2008 first rounder. They then traded #110 to Oakland for a receiver by the name of Randy Moss, ever heard of him? The first round pick in 2008? Just a former team captain, and current assistant coach, Jerod Mayo. Probably the best trade in Patriots history, and other than the Herschel Walker deal maybe among the better ones in NFL history. 2009 Draft Traded: Picks #23 (and #26)Received: Julien Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Darius Butler, Brandon TateThe Patriots traded back in the first round twice. The second one being the infamous Clay Matthews deal that Felger and Mazz have probably brought up 57 times this week. They get back a second round pick and two third round selections. After taking Darius Butler and before drafting Brandon Tate with #83, the Patriots traded #73 to Jacksonville for a seventh rounder (#232) and a 2010 second rounder. At #232 the Patriots selected a quarterback-turned-wideout, Julien Edelman, and in 2010, they packaged the second rounder with a sixth round selection to move up to take future Hall of Famer Rob Gronkowski. Isn’t it interesting how Felger and Mazz never mention that the Clay Matthews trade ended up getting the Patriots two of their best offensive weapons for the past 10 years?2011 DraftTraded: Picks #28, #60, and #93 (2012)Received: Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley, Marcus Cannon, and Chandler JonesThe combination of two trades in the 2011 draft and one trade in 2012. The first, they traded back with the Saints: trading #28 for a second rounder (#56) Color Rush N'Keal Harry Jersey , which New England used to draft Shane Vereen, and a 2012 first rounder. The next year, they would package that first (#27) along with a third (#93) to make a trade with Cincinnati for #21, where they took Chandler Jones. Going back to 2011, they traded down in the second (#60) with Houston for third and fifth round picks. Those picks turned into Stevan Ridley and Marcus Cannon. Maybe not sensational players, but Ridley was certainly serviceable for a few years, and Cannon has been a valuable part of the offensive line since Dante Scarnecchia came out of retirement in 2016. 2012 DraftTraded: Picks #31 and #126Received: Dont’a HightowerI already mentioned the Chandler Jones trade, and here’s the other deal the Patriots made in the first round that year. In case you didn’t already know, when they target someone, they aren’t afraid to go after them. They knocked their evaluations out of the park in 2012, taking Jones, who, although things didn’t work out here in the long term, is considered an elite pass rusher, as well as Dont’a Hightower, who is the leader on the Patriots defense, and has consistently been the best defender on the field in the most important games for the club. Think of just the big plays he made: the strip sack in Super Bowl 51 and the tackle in Super Bowl 49 — and those are just the tip of the iceberg. 2013 DraftTraded: Pick #29Received: Jamie Collins, Logan Ryan, LeGarrette BlountOnce again, the Patriots traded out of the first round. This time with the Vikings, who were trading up to draft Cordarrelle Patterson — who eventually ended up in New England anyway last year. In exchange, the Patriots got second, third, fourth, and seventh round picks. They selected Jamie Collins with the second rounder, took Logan Ryan in the third, and then traded the seventh to Tampa Bay for LeGarrette Blount. That’s one heck of a haul for a kick returner. 2016 DraftTraded: Chandler JonesReceived: Joe Thuney and Malcolm MitchellAgain, another offseason trade that resulted in a draft pick, and the second time Chandler Jones appears on this list. The Patriots traded Jones to the Cardinals for pick #61, which they then traded to New Orleans for a third and fourth. The third was used to draft Thuney, and they took Mitchell with the fourth. Thuney has been a solid contributor for the Patriots and was part of a fantastic offensive line this past season. Mitchell only played his rookie season season, but New England doesn’t win Super Bowl 51 without him. 2018 DraftTraded: Picks #51 and #95Received: Trent Brown New England Patriots Jersey 2019 , Ja’Whaun Bentley, 2019 second round pick (#56), 2019 third round pick (#73)Last year’s draft was a great example of the Patriots willingness to make a seemingly unlimited amount of moves to maximize the value of their assets. First, Jimmy Garoppolo got traded mid-year, and they get a second round pick (#43) back from San Francisco. They then traded #43 to Detroit for #51 and a fourth. Then they traded back again, this time with Chicago for a 2019 second and fourth (#105). At #105, they traded down again, this time with Cleveland for #114 and #178 (Christian Sam). Then, they traded #114 to Detroit (again) for a 2019 third rounder. Oh, and by the way, they packaged the other fourth with their own second to trade up for Duke Dawson. I needed to start another paragraph to marvel at the fact that all of that started with ONE SINGLE DRAFT PICK!Okay, now onto the Brown trade. They sent #95 to San Francisco for Trent Brown and a fifth (#143), where they drafted Bentley. Brown was fantastic at left tackle for the Patriots last year, and just became the highest paid offensive lineman in NFL history. Bentley looked like a promising young linebacker before he was hurt last season, and should push for a starting role this season as well.The next time you’re wondering how the Patriots have been so good for so long, remember what Bill Belichick does on draft day, and the offseason in general. Remember, this article doesn’t include any players they acquired any time other than the draft like Michael Bennett this year. It also doesn’t include the Logan Mankins deal, which got them the pick where they selected Trey Flowers. Now, they haven’t all been winners. Belichick traded up for Chad Jackson. He gave up a third and fourth rounder to trade up for the late Ron Brace. He also traded out instead of drafting Demaryius Thomas and Dez Bryant (I agree with those, but you may not). But, as you can see by my expansive list, his plan has worked more often than not.So, as you watch the draft this weekend, remember, even if you don’t love what they’re doing, it’s all a part of Belichick’s master plan. If you can’t trust that by now, you haven’t been paying attention. Pat is a host of The Patriot Nation PodcastInteract with him on Twitter @plane_pats