Wide Receiver Options

The Patriots lost another wide receiver over the weekend. Eric Decker announced his retirement after eight seasons in the NFL. It really was no shock as Decker was probably going to be cut anyway. Decker didn’t play with Brady on Friday night against the Panthers so that was the final straw. Decker was having an issue connecting with Tom Brady all training camp. As of right now the Patriots have Edelman, Hogan, Patterson, and Dorsett as the primary receivers. With Gronkowski rounding the corps out it appears as long as Brady remains healthy they should be alright. That being said, the team could always use another solid wideout. Let’s take a look at who they could pick up.

  1. Dez Bryant: Dez Bryant is still on the market. He’s a big bodied receiver that would get open and demands the ball a lot. Bryant had 6 touchdowns last season with 838 yards. Bryant did have some issues with the Cowboys and how they were running things. Belichick doesn’t take any nonsense though so if locker room drama began expect to see Bryant out of New England in a heartbeat. If Bryant wants to be on a winning team the Patriots are the best option. If Belichick doesn’t want the drama that comes with him Belichick will look in another direction.
  2. Golden Tate: Mike Reiss makes a good point on his personal website mikereiss.net Golden Tate is entering the final year of his contract. Reiss suggested a trade package of Elandon Roberts and Malcolm Brown for Golden Tate. Does that trade make sense for the Patriots and Lions? It might for two reasons. First, Matt Patricia knows Brown and Roberts from when he was a defensive coordinator for the Patriots. Second, Tate would be great for Brady to have someone other than Hogan, Patterson, and Dorsett to throw to. Tate scored five touchdowns for 1,003 yards last season for the Lions.

They aren’t going to trade for someone in the division or even in the conference. The receiving core in the division isn’t really that good anyway. If any quarterback can make it work though it’s Brady. We have seen him time and time again do more with less talent than any other quarterback in the history of the game. I personally like the Golden Tate idea even better than Bryant. Getting Deymarius Thomas from the Broncos isn’t really a good idea since the Broncos are in the conference.