The New England Patriots recently signed Eric Decker to a one year deal, but it is already time for the Pats to send Decker home.
With the New England Patriots desperate for wide receivers after they released Jordan Matthews and Malcolm Mitchell due to injury problems, Eric Decker made his way to New England.
The Patriots signed Decker to a one year deal and were hoping that he could be yet another player who finds the fountain of youth that exists somewhere in Gillette Stadium (I haven’t found it yet).
Sadly it feels like the Decker experiment may have failed. He struggled in the Patriots first preseason game and hasn’t done any better in practice. With some up and coming receivers on the Patriots roster here are three reasons the Patriots should get rid of Eric Decker.
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He’s past his prime
Decker best days are behind him. He is now a 30-year-old wideout who has seen his role diminish year by year.
The last two years have been rough on Decker. He has only played in 19 total games and had 64 catches for 757 yards and 3 touchdowns. Those numbers would be decent for a whole season, but definitely not two.
Last season Decker struggled while with the Tennessee Titans (Trust me I had him in fantasy football). He was buried in the depth chart on a team that had some decent receivers. If Decker was playing like he used to he would’ve been a top receiver on that roster.
I don’t think that Decker could even play well for the Patriots. He continues to have issues holding on to the ball. If you want to annoy Tom Brady fast, just drop some balls. You won’t have to worry about it anymore because Brady will just stop throwing to you.
Also it appears that the Patriots may not even need Decker.
The Patriots have some talented wideouts
I think this season we will see some players step up in a major way. One of the players I expect to have a good season is Phillip Dorsett.
As the season progressed Dorsett had an expanded role in 2017. The New England Patriots were giving him chances here and there to show what he can do.
With Julian Edelman suspended for the first month of the season, Dorsett has a great opportunity to start the season on the right note. Dorsett could possibly be the Patriots 2nd or 3rd receiver with Edelman out. He can line up in the slot and go across the middle to fill Edelman’s presence or run clean routes by the sidelines. Dorsett has amazing speed and that could lead to some amazing plays.
Devin Lucien was also very impressive in the Patriots first preseason game. When you have a great game with Brian Hoyer as your quarterback you must have some talent. Lucien could fill one of the lesser roles which eliminates the need for Decker.
Also, Riley McCarron has been a stud in camp so far. He and Braxton Berrios are basically carbon copies of Edelman. With McCarron having a great camp so far I believe he can fill Edelman’s shoes for a month.
It’s just a month
All offseason there has been some concern in regards to the wideouts. Losing your top wide receiver for 4 games isn’t exactly ideal, but the Patriots will be just fine.
Let us not forget we have Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. The best players at their position today. These guys will put up good numbers.
Also Edelman is only missing 4 games. Even if the Patriots go 0-4 (they won’t) they could still win out. The Patriots will have one of the best offenses in the NFL. There is no doubt about it.
So if Decker keeps struggling the Patriots should get rid of him. It would only cost the Patriots $75,000 which is chump change in today’s NFL.
Patriots fans may be saying bye to Eric Decker real soon, but there is no need to worry. The New England Patriots have dealt with star players being suspended for 4 games before.