Brandon LaFell: ‘Came To Play For A Hall Of Fame Quarterback’

Brandon LaFell spoke today for the first time as a Patriot, and he had a few interesting comments regarding why he chose New England. Here is what he had to say: (via Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston)

On why he chose New England:

"LaFell said getting the ball more, winning, and the chance to play with a Hall of Fame quarterback were primary factors in his decision to come to New England. His former club, the Panthers, was also a winning team, but LaFell said the draw of Tom Brady was significant. “One day Cam [Newton] will be there, probably, but he’s not there now,” LaFell said of Hall of Fame status. “I feel like it was a better chance to come up here and get more balls and win than it was in Carolina. Nothing against those guys. It’s a great organization and those guys are going to win, but it’s proven up here, man. We were winning last year in Carolina. These guys were winning up here the last 10-plus years. So why not come to a winning organization?”"

On connection with former teammate Stevan Ridley:

"LaFell’s former teammate at Louisiana State, running back Stevan Ridley, was surprised to initially learn that LaFell was coming to town. LaFell then relayed what Ridley said: “He was like, ‘Bro, we have a bunch of young guys that play a lot of good ball, but we need another veteran that will step in and help those young guys grow. You can be one of those [final] pieces for us in taking this thing to the next level. I’ll tell you, just like I tell anybody else, you have to come up here and be able to sacrifice your off-the-field life for the things you have to do — put in extra time in film and extra work after practice.’ He kept saying the word sacrifice. And hard work. He said if you’re committed to do that with the rest of those guys, you’ll fit in and help us win games.”"

I think LaFell has a chance to really make a positive impact on the Pats offense, mainly because he has a better quarterback to work with. LaFell has good size, and great versatility, which should allow him to fit into Brady’s offense just fine.