INDIANAPOLIS -- With the New England Patriots placing veteran cornerback Tarell Brown (foot) on season-ending injured reserve Saturday, it sparks two questions:
What's left on the roster?
Who might be possible targets in a trade?
The answer to the first question is that the Patriots are extremely thin and inexperienced at cornerback, with Malcolm Butler (second year) and Logan Ryan (third year) the top two options on the depth chart, followed by undrafted rookie Justin Coleman (Tennessee) and third-year player Rashaan Melvin, who was claimed on waivers on Wednesday.
As for who might be possible targets in a trade, this is always a challenging question to answer because one has to know a team's willingness to trade a certain player.
The most common names that come up in media-based discussions are Alterraun Verner (Buccaneers), because his performance hasn't matched his big contract. A dream scenario for Patriots fans would be the Titans parting with Jason McCourty, the twin brother of Patriots safety Devin McCourty, but that seems unlikely.
The player I've been watching closely is Chiefs cornerback Marcus Cooper, who played in college at Rutgers. The Patriots previously tried to claim Cooper when he was waived by the 49ers, but the Chiefs had priority in 2013.
The Chiefs (1-4) drafted two cornerbacks early in this year's draft (first round/third round) and Cooper isn't playing a large role (he was inactive last week). Could they be enticed to deal him if the Patriots called and offered a late-round draft choice?
That type of option, if at all, might be the best the Patriots could hope for at this time.
