Through nine weeks in the season, the New England Patriots find themselves at 5-4 and struggling to perform against good NFL teams.

The NFL trade deadline was an opportunity for New England to put together a more competitive roster . Since that deadline has passed — meaning trades can no longer happen in the NFL until the next season begins — the Patriots will be stuck with their current roster and any players they can acquire through waivers or free agency.

New England found itself in a similar situation last year, making just two moves before the trade deadline, which was trading EDGE Keion White to San Francisco and S Kyle Dugger to Pittsburgh. Last year's roster was much healthier and in the middle of a historic win-streak, so it made sense for the Patriots not to change around the roster.

This year's Patriots team is quite the opposite. They're the most injured roster in football and have dropped two of their last three games.…