The Patriots 24-21 loss to the Bills on Sunday prompted pundits and fans alike to declare that the season is over and that it is time to ship away any valuable commodities on the roster.

In theory, it makes sense. See what you can get for a Stephon Gilmore and Joe Thuney, your two most valuable pieces and trade them. In reality, it is not that easy.

Any trade the Patriots make before tomorrow’s trade deadline has to make sense for the organization. The return has to be worth it. You cannot simply trade talented players to speed up some kind of rebuild. This isn’t baseball.

My partner on the Other Patriots Post Game Show, Cory Bailey recently interviewed former Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia and he asked Scarnecchia if the Patriots would trade any of their players at the deadline.

Scarnecchia’s response was simple. It is not in Belichick’s DNA to trade away good players. He would only do it if it was a good business decision.

In other words, if the right deal came along in the next 36 hours, he would take it. Otherwise, he won’t do it to just do it.

Having additional draft capital is great but the reality is, Belichick doesn’t value it as much as others do. It is not like you are getting a first round pick for Gilmore. He’s 30 years old. At best, you are looking at a second or rounder some kind of package of picks.

The same goes for Thuney. As good as he is, he won’t net a first round pick because he is a free agent after the season and he is an offensive lineman.

Could you see Belichick make smaller deals? Sure. It wouldn’t surprise me if he moved one or both of the McCourty’s. Or if he moved someone else.

It also wouldn’t surprise me if he made a trade to upgrade the roster. I know Patriots fans want to “Tank for Trevor” but yesterday was proof that this team isn’t bad enough to be in position to land Lawrence in next year’s draft. So people should really stop throwing that out there. Besides. Belichick isn’t going to roll over and quit. It is not who he is.

Make no mistake about it. The Patriots roster is bad. Belichick created this mess and he needs to fix it. However I don’t think he will get the value in return that some people around here think he will. It is time to face reality. The Patriots will not make a trade just to make one. It has to make sense.