The offseasons in New England are bleak more often than not, especially from the fan perspective; the Patriots rarely make forays into free agency, which leads the regional armchair GMs to say the team has fallen off, there’s no chance they make the playoffs this year much less the Super Bowl, etc. Obviously, they end up just fine every time.
This offseason, though, feels a little different. The Patriots have lost contributors before, but the only comparable loss to Rob Gronkowski’s retirement is when Randy Moss was traded in 2010. Without Gronk, it’s the motley pairing of Tom Brady and Julian Edelman, plus a bunch of former bench-warmers (and also Philip Dorsett, who I still strongly stand behind even after two years of not doing a whole lot). The point is, the cupboards are especially barren in Brady’s wide receiver kitchen this offseason. Yes, there’s the draft, but Bill Belichick’s record for drafting wide receivers isn’t exactly stellar; the best one he ever drafted was Edelman, who came in as a quarterback, so that should say it all.
Which should make the recent release of Raiders wideout Seth Roberts quite intriguing for the Patriots. Roberts won’t solve the bigger personnel issue at hand, but he would automatically become the second-most successful receiver in Foxboro behind Edelman. Most of his snaps are taken out of the slot, which would provide relief for Edelman and another safety outlet for Brady. The hope would be that Roberts, a six-year vet, would be able to come in and learn the playbook quicker than the average rookie straight out of college. He’d be able to contribute quickly, even if he wouldn’t contribute a lot.
I’m certainly not about to doubt Bill freakin’ Belichick, but this seems like a no-brainer. A veteran receiver who has experience in the slot should be an easy signing, even if he’s not a worldbreaker. If he ends up elsewhere, it either means Belichick is firmly dedicated to throwing the ball ten times a game, or he has something even crazier up his sleeve for later this offseason.
