FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Armed with more cap space than the rest of the NFL and three extra draft picks next year, the New England Patriots are better positioned than most teams to strike a win-now trade.

So with several big names potentially available — from Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin to Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons — would they pull the trigger?

Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf gave a resounding yes on Monday.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Wolf said before the Patriots’ latest training camp practice. “We’re talking to all 31 teams and trying to do what’s best for us. I think those things are often a lot more complicated than the fans and some others would like to make you believe. But if there is something we think can help us, we’d definitely be open to it.”

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Asked if the Patriots would part with a first-round pick or a second-rounder in a potential deal, Wolf again confirmed his front office is open to it.

“Sure. Just doing what’s best for the team,” he said, “If there was a player out there that we feel like can help us, and it costs that, then we would consider doing that.”

McLaurin, who turns 30 next month, would bolster a position of need for the Patriots’ and projects as the most seamless culture fit of all the top trade targets. McLaurin caught 82 passes for 1,096 yards last season playing for a Commanders team that reached the NFC Championship Game. It was his fifth straight 1,000-yard season.

McLaurin’s departure from Washington feels unlikely given the Commanders’ hope to make another long playoff run behind young quarterback Jayden Daniels. McLaurin’s reported salary demands are north of the $33 million annually that D.K. Metcalf received upon being traded to Pittsburgh. His current contract is set to void next offseason, making this a contract year for him.

McLaurin has yet to practice this summer.

In Dallas, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has said he will not trade Parsons after the All-Pro edge rusher demanded a trade earlier this month.

“I think the world of Micah,” Jones told reporters on Aug. 2. “And that (request) is just a part of negotiation.”

Parsons has made the Pro Bowl in all four years of his young career, plus two All-Pro teams. He’s averaged more than 13 sacks per season and has nine career forced fumbles. The 26-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best players in the NFL regardless of position and should break the league’s record for largest contract signed by a non-quarterback; a record recently reset by Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt on a three-year, $123 million extension.

Landing Parsons would likely require multiple top picks and making him the team’s highest-paid player.

Another pass rusher, Bengals veteran Trey Hendrickson, has dug his heels in after a years-long contract battle with Cincinnati’s front office. According to The Athletic, the Bengals are asking for a 2026 first-round pick and a young player in any deal, an asking price likely to scare suitors off given Hendrickson’s age. An eight-year veteran, Hendrickson will turn 31 in December, though he’s ranked among the NFL’s best pass rushers for years now.

Hendrickson has reached double-digit sacks in four of the past five seasons, and posted 35 sacks combined over the last two. He is a four-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro. Hendrickson is entering the last year of his contract, with a scheduled base salary of $15.8 million. None of it is guaranteed.

Earlier this month, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel indicated the team is taking a two-year outlook on its salary cap after spending $365.5 million in free agency last spring, including $179.65 million in full guarantees; both high marks across the league.

“I think we tried to be as close to the plan as we could, going through free agency and how we wanted to allocate it over the next two years,” Vrabel said, “counting this year and next year when we look at the cap going out over two years."

Wolf echoed that sentiment Monday, when asked about whether the team’s league-leading $59.8 million in cap space reflects an internal belief the Patriots are not ready to contend yet.

“It’s a big-picture view. Also, we have the quarterback (Drake Maye) on a rookie contract,” Wolf said. “I certainly think we spent a lot of money in free agency this year, so I don’t think it’s indicative of where we think we are as a team.”

The Patriots are currently scheduled to be $15.3 million over the cap next year, per Over The Cap.

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