When the New England Patriots lost Wes Welker to the Denver Broncos they replaced him with Danny Amendola. Expectations were high for the former St. Louis Rams wide receiver after New England gave him a five-year deal worth $31 million. However, those were not met as injuries and inconsistencies made him a non-factor in 2013. So with the draft approaching and the Patriots bringing in several wide receivers for consideration, is Amendola's time with the team just about up?
Trade rumors have been surrounding Amendola for the last few months as the Patriots have been working to revamp their receiving corps. The team re-signed Julian Edelman and signed players like Brandon LaFell to try and make up for 2013's lack of big numbers. It was just another signed that Amendola could be on the market sooner than expected. However, that might no longer be the case.
According to the Boston Herald, a trade for Amendola is not likely this offseason. The team is not prepared to quit on the player after just one season and will give Amendola one more shot at proving himself before they make a move. The Patriots could easily opt to cut the wide receiver prior to training camp, but right now they are intent on holding on to him for depth purposes and seeing what happens.
Amendola's health will be the biggest factor in his future. The wide receiver has just one season where he played all 16 games and has just 54 of a possible 80 regular season games in his career. Last year was just another example on the resume. The wide receiver struggled with a hip injury and hernia that could still need surgery if the offseason did not heal it. If Amendola is projected to miss any time in the 2014 season, his time in New England will be over.
There is no doubting the wide receiver's talent when he is healthy. In Week 1 and in Week 15, Amendola was at his best. He had 10 catches for over 100 yards while being a quality route runner and excellent option on third downs. However, those are really the only bright spots on the down year. He failed to develop any chemistry with quarterback Tom Brady as Edelman outshined him in every year. With essentially no job security, the Patriots are ready to make a move on the top wide receiver in the draft.
The Patriots are being projected to make a trade in the draft and attempt to move up for a player like Mike Evans or Marqise Lee. They have looked at everyone from Kelvin Benjamin to Odell Beckham Jr, but appear to favor Evans if they can pull off a trade for him.
