New England Patriots would be wise to look into Danny Amendola

The New England Patriots would ideally like to re-sign Wes Welker and keep sticking with the durable, perennial 100-catch slot receiver. However, there always needs to be a strong contingency plan in case things don’t work out, and Mike Florio said yesterday that the guy the Patriots are likely looking at as Plan B is Danny Amendola.

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Although Welker is the better player than Amendola, I don’t think durability is a concern with Amendola despite his injury history. He’s actually as tough as Welker is, and I will always remember what he did after he broke his collarbone against the Arizona Cardinals. When the St. Louis Rams medical team took him down to the locker room, he was visibly frustrated. In fact, Amendola looked downright pissed off- he wanted in. He took his helmet and just threw it as hard as he could, and you could see the rage, the desire to play and help his team win against a division rival.

It’s that kind of toughness that would work well in New England, and you could make the case for Amendola being the second-best slot guy behind Welker in the league. He is clearly one of the best possession receivers in the game, and there would be no better Plan B for the Pats than Amendola.

I would still definitely prefer that the New England Patriots keep Wes Welker, especially given the optimism that a deal will be done. Adam Schefter did report that Welker wants to test the market, which shouldn’t really surprise anyone. But just because he is willing to test the market, doesn’t mean that Welker is going to leave. Fellow ESPN insider Ed Werder reported yesterday that Welker will likely have a drier market than he wants, and that certainly plays into the Patriots hands.

Danny Amendola is definitely on the Patriots radar, and it will be interesting to see if we hear that both sides are actively in discussions once that is allowed to happen (Saturday). Last season, Amendola caught 63 passes in just 11 games, but he is even more of a short-range guy than Welker. Amendola is a solid player, but he has a very limited skill-set, and the Rams will do as much as they can to keep him in St. Louis as Sam Bradford‘s top target.

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