When the New England Patriots traded linebacker Jamie Collins to the Cleveland Browns for a third-round pick in late October, rivals around the league were stumped. Why would the Patriots trade their best defender in the middle of the season? Nearly three months later, New England is back in the Super Bowl—with a defense that actually improved after Collins’s departure. In March, New England traded defensive end Chandler Jones, who led the team in sacks in 2015, to Arizona. A year earlier, the Patriots traded All-Pro defensive end Richard Seymour, who was entering the final year of his contract, to the Raiders for a first-round pick.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 27, 2017 02:37 UTC