Patriots WR-Situational posting

[BaseballJones]

Not sure it's best to start a new thread and this seemed to be the next most logical place (it's about a Pats WR), but I think it's worth talking about the WR situation in more depth.

At the start of camp, the Pats had the following guys:

Edelman
Mitchell
Amendola
Hogan
Cooks
Hawkins
Lucien
Carr
C Hollister
White
Slater

That first group of five looked to be the best, deepest, and most talented WR group we've ever seen the Pats have. It seemed like it was an abundance of riches.

Edelman - injured, out for season
Mitchell - injured, hasn't played a snap
Amendola
Hogan - has been very good, now injured for who knows how long
Cooks
Hawkins - retired
Lucien - cut
Carr - cut
C Hollister - cut, now on practice squad
White - cut
Slater - primarily special teams guy
Dorsett - acquired in a trade for Brissett
McCarron - on practice squad
Kumerow - on practice squad

So from Edelman/Mitchell/Cooks/Amendola/Hogan/Slater to Amendola/Cooks/Dorsett/Slater/??/??. That's an enormous drop-off. One deep threat (Cooks) who doesn't appear to be running all the routes (though I imagine he's capable of them), one guy who is primarily an underneath guy (Amendola) with an injury history, a guy with blazing speed who hardly ever plays (Dorsett), and a special teams guy.

So much for the incredible depth and talent at the WR position. I don't know that the practice squad offers much help. Possible solutions include a trade (Bryant from Pit or Calvin Johnson from Det if they can convince him to unretire, or maybe a much lesser acquisition), a PS promotion, or a free agent pickup (Boldin?). Right now it's not about finding the ideal guy, but rather just finding a decent quality guy. To me, Boldin might make the most sense. Reliable veteran, shouldn't cost much, won't require you to give up anything in a deal, he and BB seemed to have mutual interest at one point, still has great hands and is tough as nails, and is a leadership-type guy.

 

[kenneycb]

Boldin would fall in the Bryant or Johnson category since he was under contract with the Bills when he retired. Given they're a division rival, I don't see that happening.

 

[5dice]

Boldin would fall in the Bryant or Johnson category since he was under contract with the Bills when he retired. Given they're a division rival, I don't see that happening.

Exactly. If your the Bills, you probably don't want to help the Patriots, since:

1. They are tied in the loss column with both H2H matchups ahead and are actually in the mix for a change
2. They have a thin wideout corps themselves
3. They have been getting their ass kicked by the Patriots for many a year and don't really, like, like us

Not every team is here to help the Patriots make trades.

Also, is there any reason to assume Mitchell isn't back soon after IR designated to return?

 

[BaseballJones]

Boldin would fall in the Bryant or Johnson category since he was under contract with the Bills when he retired. Given they're a division rival, I don't see that happening.

Good catch. I forgot about that. :-/

 

[dcmissle]

Same with Bryant.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

New thread = somewhere a puppy gets hugged.

 

[dbn]

The "glass half full"-way to look at it is that better to get hit with injuries at a position where there is depth. I mean, imagine if they lost their best LB for the season?

 

[m0ckduck]

I find it hard to picture dealing mid-season for a wideout given the documented struggles of new receivers to learn and the offense.

This is probably too fan-boyish, but... Martellus Bennet? Cap hit of 3.8m this year, intends to retire at season's end. GB probably feels they're still in it, so that's a likely blocker. Would guard against the scenario of our season likely being shot the moment Gronk goes down.

 

[slamminsammya]

Bennett has been bad so far. Has BB ever brought in a skill position guy mid season? Seems like its a tough offense

 

[streeter88]

Good catch. I forgot about that. :-/

I reckon the Bills' reluctance to let Boldin go to the Pats runs waaaaay deeper than just this year's Bills' competitiveness. Somebody from Buffalo area can probably speak to it better than I can, but the Bills fanbase is disgusted with all the talent the Pats have "stolen" from the Bills -- or the Bills management has somehow screwed up and let go -- just in the last 2-3 years. Can't even remember them all, but Hogan and Gillislee top the list just in the past 2 years.

So I suspect Bills ownership would pull a "Jones-Romo" if Boldin said he wanted to go to the Pats.

 

[SumnerH]

Bennett has been bad so far. Has BB ever brought in a skill position guy mid season?

Deion Branch was traded from Seattle to New England after 4 games in 2010.