By Jordan Long
The New England Patriots’ wide receiver core is now weakened. First Kenny Britt was released on Thursday because of a hamstring injury that occurred in minicamp in June. He wasn’t the same player and the Patriots cut him. The Patriots were hoping Eric Decker would be a fit on the team but he decided to retire on Sunday.
The Patriots are thin at wide receiver especially for the first 4 games of the season. Julian Edelman is out because of his suspension for PED use. Brady can still toss the football to Chris Hogan who will be the go-to receiver in the first 4 games. Brady will have to rely on Cordarrelle Patterson who has 5 years NFL experience with a total of 1,625 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Of course Brady still has tight end Rob Gronkowski who is a matchup nightmare for defenses. Defensive backs are too small to cover him and linebackers aren’t fast enough to keep up with him while he runs routes. Brady must use him more in the passing game.
The Patriots will need to look at free agent wide receivers before their first game against the Houston Texans on Sunday September 9th. Dez Bryant is available and is probably the best option because of his experience. There are also others waiting for a new home.
Jeremy Maclin has 8 years in the NFL. He has proven to be a wide receiver a quarterback can throw the football to. He has 6,835 receiving yards and 49 touchdowns with an average yards per catch of 13.3. He would be a target Brady could look for in the open field. His speed allows him to create separation from the defensive backs to be open. Once he catches the football, those are long gains.
Harry Douglas is another available wide receiver. Douglas is in his 10th NFL season. In those years he has 3,759 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. The only problem with Douglas is he spent most of last season on injured reserved with a knee injury and only appeared in 2 games for the Titans so who knows how healthy he is.
New England could also sign Brandon LaFell. LaFell is familiar with the offense since he played in New England from 2014 to 2015. He caught 111 passes for a total of 1,468 yards and added 7 touchdowns during those years. He wouldn’t be the worst option for the Patriots.
New England will need to find another wide receiver. They could wait until cuts are made. There might be a wide receiver who is a perfect fit, but they must add to the receiving core.
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