Source: Patriots trading former 2nd-round pick Ja'Lynn Polk to Saints in pick-swap deal

Doug Kyed and Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald on Sep 13, 2025

Published in Football

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The Patriots are trading wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk and a 2028 seventh-round pick to the Saints for a 2027 sixth-rounder, a source confirmed to the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.

Polk was placed on season-ending injured reserve this summer after he sustained a shoulder injury in the Patriots’ 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.

“I’m 1,000 percent confident in myself and my ability and what I’m able to do,” Polk said. “I work very hard, and I got great faith in my good lord. So, there’s no question about my confidence. It’s just waiting on my time, waiting on my turn and knowing that it’s going to come and just being ready.”

A month later, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf told Fox Sports the team put too much on Polk’s plate as a rookie and believed he would make an immediate impact.

“The rookie receivers didn’t have it really that much for us,” Wolf said. “And, you know, Polk was sort of in our estimation a plug-and-play. … Ultimately, to answer to your question, our record speaks for itself. We didn’t do enough.”

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’s 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’s Dianna Russinni first reported Polk’s trade to New Orleans.