Patriots Trade for Corey Kiner in the Most 2028 Move Ever

The New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals just pulled off the kind of trade that makes you double-check what year it is.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Arizona is shipping running back Corey Kiner to New England. The return is a seventh-round draft pick in the year 2028, per Kiner's agents Adie von Gontard and Don Williams.

"Adam Schefter reported the trade via Kiner's agents Adie von Gontard and Don Williams."

Trading a pick for a draft class currently learning how to drive a car is objectively hilarious. But for the Patriots, it is a cheap way to grab some backfield depth right as the preseason wraps up.

Kiner went undrafted out of Cincinnati and barely saw the field for the Cardinals in 2025. He logged exactly 12 carries for 58 yards and caught two passes. That is not a stat line, that is a light afternoon of cardio.

Arizona had zero room left for him anyway. Their running back room is currently a crowded house featuring James Conner, Trey Benson, rookie Jeremiyah Love, and free-agent addition Tyler Allgeier. Kiner was staring down the barrel of a practice squad spot, so getting literally any future draft capital is a win for the Cardinals front office.

New England just got smoked 37-13 by the Cleveland Browns to close out their preseason, so shaking up the bottom of the roster makes sense. Kiner is on a highly digestible two-year, $1.84 million contract that barely makes a dent in the salary cap.

If you are looking at Week 1 prop bets, do not expect Kiner to suddenly steal the starting job. He is strictly an insurance policy who gives the Patriots a healthy body in the rotation.

Now Kiner has a few days to learn the New England playbook before the regular season kicks off. As for that 2028 seventh-round pick, we will check back in four years to see if it makes the roster.