Patriots Should Keep Danny Amendola

There’s a lot of rumors going around that are saying the New England Patriots might get rid of Danny Amendola. I don’t think that’d be a good idea.

With the acquisitions of Nate Washington, Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett, some people are suggesting that Danny Amendola might be on his way out of New England. I just don’t see that being the case. All of these new pieces are nice, but new blood has had trouble picking up the Patriots’ offense in the past. Amendola may be injury prone, and may be on a pitch count, but he’s still a really good number 3 receiving option (Gronk and Edelman are 1 and 2). If some new guy has a hard time picking up the playbook, and Amendola isn’t on the team anymore, that obviously won’t be a good thing.

MUST-READ: Who will be this year’s Jabaal Sheard?

Danny will have a cap hit of a little under $7 million this year. He took a pay cut last year and is still under contract for a few more seasons. I think it’d be more likely to see him take another pay cut rather than just be outright cut.

MUST-READ: 6 remaining free agents Patriots should avoid signing

Amendola has come up in the clutch before, he can make spectacular plays, and he doesn’t have the drops like LaFell had (that’s why he got cut). Yea, he gets hurt sometimes, but many of them are freak accidents (like his collarbone). The Patriots knew they were getting a guy made of glass when they signed him to a 5 year deal a few seasons ago. No one is asking Danny to be the top receiving option, and now with Chris Hogan, Danny may drop to the 4th or 5th. Is that worth $7 million? No, not even close, but $2-3 million, maybe. Especially because the Patriots run different personnel in different packages. Amendola still has something to give the team, he’s still a good player, and he still knows the offense better than any of the new guys. We may see Danny out the door next season if Hogan can gain Brady’s trust; but this year, I think Danny sticks around.

Next: 6 remaining free agents Pats should mull over

Stay tuned here on Musket Fire for coverage on every twist and turn in the Patriots’ offseason.