Could the New England Patriots Sign Reggie Wayne?
Reggie Wayne needs no introduction. But if he did, it would go something like this:
-1,070 career receptions
-14,345 career receiving yards
-82 career touchdowns
-13.4 yards per reception average
-14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts
-probably saved your fantasy football team at some point
-currently unemployed
(After scouring the stat sheets, it also looks like Wayne has one career passing attempt, which I was completely unaware of until just now. It went incomplete.)
The Colts decided to not re-sign Reggie Wayne after the 2014 season ended with the New England Patriots taking their lunch money (again), but Reggie Wayne has certainly made it clear that he’s wanting to finish one more season.
None of this is news. What is news, though, is a statement from ESPN today from Reggie about his future in the NFL, where ESPN reports that “several teams have called about his services”. Wayne himself said “It’s something I’m excited about. I really am. I guess in due time, we’ll figure out where it is.” He also said, when asked about why he wants to take one last shot before riding off into the sunset, that “I want to finish how I know I can finish.”
Of those two, the more interesting part, by far, is Wayne telling us that “several” teams have contacted him about playing another season. The Patriots are almost certainly one of those teams.
Why? Because the Patriots contact everyone in free agency to kick the tires and see what’s up. No, really; look at some of the players they’ve signed or traded for over the years. Running back Corey Dillon. Roosevelt Colvin. Safety Rodney Harrison. Albert Haynesworth. Chad Ochocinco. Randy Moss. Austin Collie. Brandon Browner.
And those are just the ones they’ve gotten.
In a slightly different scenario, they brought Johnny F’ing Football/Manziel to New England for a visit before last year’s draft. Yeah. That guy.
Not only that, but according to salary cap guru Miguel at www.patscap.com, the Patriots have the cap space to sign a guy with the salary Reggie Wayne will likely need, even after making several moves this offseason like releasing defensive tackle and 10-year-man Vince Wilfork for cap purposes:
That being said, Wayne has had the luck (no pun intended) to play with undisputably elite quarterbacks for his entire NFL career, catching bomb after bomb from Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck for a decade and a half. Even if he’s the number 3 or 4 receiver in New England, it’s easy to start drooling when you think about what Reggie Wayne might be able to do with Rob Gronkowski drawing double-teams galore, Julian Edelman doing his best Sonic the Hedgehog impression underneath, and Brandon LaFell as a solid possession receiver. Or any combination of those, really.
A most-likely-low-priced veteran that’s been productive for his entire career that surely wants to play for a Super Bowl competitor in his final campaign?
Don’t count the Patriots out of the list of tire-kickers.