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reggie wayne

Thoughts on Patriots signing Reggie Wayne

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The Pats signed Reggie Wayne to a one-year deal this morning per Adam Schefter, after injuries to their wide receivers made it a necessity. Before camp I didn’t really see the sense in signing Wayne, because he’s not going to be anything more than a third or fourth receiver now. But with injuries to Tyms, Dobson and now Gibson, it’s apparent they’re going to need that fourth receiver role filled with a veteran.

I don’t know how much he has left in the tank, but in spot duty can he come in, play the slot and get open for a first-down catch? Sure. I have more optimism about Wayne than any of the other former star receiver reclamation projects Belichick has taken on like with Joey Galloway, Tory Holt and Chad Johnson.

Most of all it would be fun to have some more ammo to rub in the Colts faces on 10/18. Would there be a better final nail for their coffin than a garbage time Reggie Wayne touchdown to make it 62-0?

Now the focus really shifts to Aaron Dobson, who is supposedly healthy enough to go but the rumors are the Pats are playing it safe with him. It’s now or never for him.

Reggie Wayne a fit for Patriots?

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As is always the case when there’s a notable name on the free agent market, the Patriots have been named as a potential landing spot for Reggie Wayne. 

Player agents know the best way to turn up interest on a player is to say the Patriots are interested in them, but that doesn’t always make it true. Still, Bill Belichick’s respect for Reggie Wayne is well-known and the Pats did have interest in him a couple seasons ago when he was a free agent.

But is there really a fit for New England? The Pats didn’t think enough of him in the AFC Championship to give him much of any attention. Whether or not Wayne has enough left in the tank to contribute in a meaningful way in New England is questionable.

Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell are locked in at the top of the depth chart, and Danny Amendola is a near-lock as a slot receiver and returner. 

Then there’s one of the better camp battles for the last couple spots between Aaron Dobson and Brian Tyms with Josh Boyce hoping to get lucky or for an injury. Brandon Gibson showed promise under Josh McDaniels in St. Louis and is already the wild card of the bunch.

Dobson and Tyms are young players who could blossom with more game snaps. At least Tyms plays special teams, that’s a huge benefit for a receiver who’s down the depth chart.

What’s the value of adding Wayne to the roster? Can he pick up the Patriots’ offense without any time in OTAs or mini camp? He’s a smart player for sure, but we saw Chad Ochocinco play all of 2011 as a non-factor on a team that really needed him to be a factor.

The question is how much would Reggie Wayne improve the Patriots offense and at this point, it’s hard to say much, if at all. If Danny Amendola were to go down, that could open the door. But Wayne would still have stiff competition for that third receiving spot, the only place he’d get any playing time. 

Dobson and Tyms aren’t slot guys, but sliding Edelman inside to utilize them on the outside would be a solution without Amendola that still might be better than Wayne.

Everyone gets excited when rumors of (formerly) big names are linked to the Pats, but I’d still consider Wayne-to-the-Patriots to be a long shot.

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