When the Patriots were unable to sign Wes Welker to a deal both parties could agree on last year, the New England Patriots immediately brought in former St. Louis Rams’ receiver Danny Amendola. Some reports came in that even before Welker ending up signing with the Denver Broncos, the Patriots signed Amendola to a 5 year, $31 million dollar deal.
However, the Patriots could end up cutting Amendola, only a year or two in, due to his injury issues and inability to put together a 16 game season. Going all the way back to his rookie season, Amendola has only had one season in which he completed all 16 games and has played only 54 out of 80 regular season games in his career.
Although Amendola went un-drafted in 2008, no one today doubts the skills that Amendola has to offer. If you need proof of what healthy Amendola is capable of, watch him at Buffalo in week 1, or at Miami in week 15. In both of these games, Amendola had 10 receptions and over 100 yards. He took big hits over the middle, showed agility when running his routes and helped the Patriots get out of tough 3rd down and 4th down situations.
Amendola needs to be able to be a receiver who Tom Brady can count on and not have to miss on a weekly basis because one of his top targets is always banged up.
In terms of job security, Amendola doesn’t have much of it. New England has ten wide receivers on its current roster, the most at any position on the team. This roster includes big name players like Julian Edelman, who just signed a 4-year, $17 million deal after a +100 reception and +1,000 season, Brandon Lafell, Aaron Dobson, and Kenbrell Thompkins.
Amendola is surrounded by talent, and has plenty himself. The only question that remains is this: Can Amendola remain healthy for 16 games and show the healthy Danny Amendola the Patriots wish they saw more of on a consistent basis.
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