Report: Mike Onwenu wants to stay with Patriots and ‘can only see better things ahead’

Mike Onwenu was one of the names often mentioned as a trade possibility for the Patriots before the trade deadline.

Some, including Mark Daniels of MassLive, have called Onwenu New England’s best offensive lineman. He has played guard in the past, but his move to right tackle has had an immediate impact for New England in recent weeks.

His contract expires at the end of this year, and some speculated whether it would be better for the Patriots to trade him and get some assets instead of letting him walk in free agency like Jakobi Meyers did last year.

However, the Patriots adhered to the trade deadline and Onwenu made it clear to Daniels that he wants to stay in New England.

“Yes, I would like to be back,” Onwenu told MassLive. “I’ve been here and I’ve enjoyed my four years so far. I only see better things in the future.”

Daniels reports that Onwenu heard the trade rumors and tried to ignore them. He spent Tuesday’s trade deadline at Gillette Stadium so he could be the first to hear the team’s news if anything happened.

“I came in here. I was getting treatment, so I looked people in the eye,” Onwenu said. “If they wanted to say something, they would say something.”

Tuesday, according to Daniels, was the first time in Onwenu’s career that he felt “nervous” that he could be traded. Some teams choose to become active at the trade deadline when their record sits at 2-6. Bill Belichick’s approach was different.

“I’ve tried not to think about it, but obviously it’s one of those deadlines where you start thinking about it,” Onwenu said. “And it happens to be on our day off, so you just wait and watch. I know a lot of people in those situations. I didn’t do that. It was definitely one of those things where you have to trust God and at the end of the day you can’t do anything about it.”