Patriots Gridiron News: Demaryius Thomas simply not a good fit

With reports surfacing that the Houston Texans are to release wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, should the New England Patriots have interest?

One of the big needs for the New England Patriots coming off a Super Bowl victory is finding an outside wide receiver and securing depth at the position.

With Super Bowl LIII MVP Julian Edelman as the only experienced receiver under contract, the Patriots will look to find help at the position through the draft and free agency.  If they want an experienced receiver, the best route would be through trade or on the free agency market.

You can forget about Antonio Brown because the Pittsburgh Steelers will probably not engage talks with the Patriots.  Wide receivers like Adam Humphries and Golden Tate will be intriguing options on the market, but what about Demaryius Thomas?

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The team certainly are familiar with the veteran wide receiver due to their many battles with the Denver Broncos over the years, but is he a fit in New England?

According to multiple reports, the Houston Texans released Thomas on Tuesday.  An interesting occurrence since the Patriots did reportedly have interest in trading for Thomas at the trade deadline prior to him being traded to the Texans from the Denver Broncos.

However, Demaryius Thomas is recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered back in Week 16.  While there is no timetable on his recovery, taking a flier on the veteran receiver could be risky for the New England Patriots.

Although he has good size and did haul in 59 receptions for 677 yards and 5 touchdowns in 15 games last season, having him back and available for a full offseason program would be valuable to getting him on the same page as Tom Brady.

Now, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is very familiar with Demaryius Thomas since he drafted him when he was the head coach of the Broncos, having those reps and forming that chemistry with Brady is vital.

We’ve seen veteran receivers like Eric Decker just last season not catch on and that is always going to be a concern for a player with some mileage on them like a Demaryius Thomas.  Recovering from an Achilles injury would make his transgression to New England a tougher challenge.

A question of toughness

Despite his talent, there is a question of toughness with Demaryius Thomas.  In their many battles with the Denver Broncos over the years, the New England Patriots secondary has found a way to limit Thomas in big games and in big moments.

That’s a main reason to go after a player like Golden Tate over Thomas.  Just like the Patriots did with Josh Gordon during the season, Thomas won’t just be an outside threat, he will also run slants and comeback plays that will challenge that toughness.

Is he capable of being a good fit?

Certainly.  A player with his career numbers who has played with a Hall-of-Fame quarterback like Peyton Manning is capable of fitting in, but does he have the mental toughness to put in the extra work and not complain when he does not get the targets?

He just may come cheap enough for the New England Patriots to give it a shot.  As a No. 1 guy, the defending Super Bowl champs should pass.  If somehow, he is the No. 2 or No. 3 guy, it could be worth the risk.

It will be an interesting offseason indeed.