The New England Patriots are back at it, taking on another ex-Bills low-risk, high-reward receiver. On Thursday night, the Patriots signed Jordan Matthews to a one-year deal, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The move comes two days after the Patriots traded speedy wideout Brandin Cooks to the Rams. However, Matthews shouldn't be considered Cooks' replacement. Instead, Matthews should be viewed as more of a replacement for reliable slot receiver Danny Amendola, who departed for Miami in free agency. In 2016, Matthews ran 67.1 percent of his routes out of the slot, according to Pro Football Focus. That being said, reliable is probably the last word that comes to mind when thinking about the first four years of Matthews' underwhelming career.
Matthews entered the league as a second-round pick of the Eagles back in 2014. In Philadelphia for three seasons, Matthews caught 225 passes for 2,673 yards and 19 touchdowns, which isn't an awful stat line. What was awful was his case of the drops. He dropped 21 passes from 2014-16, according to PFF.
In August, the Eagles traded Matthews to Buffalo. Battling injuries, Matthews appeared in 10 games with the Bills, catching 25 passes for 282 yards and one touchdown. He dropped two passes, per PFF. In December, he underwent surgery on his left knee and right ankle. According to Schefter, he's healthy now.
If anyone other than the Patriots had made this move, it would've flown completely under the radar. But the Patriots do have a history of turning meh receivers into capable pass catchers. Look no further than the time the Patriots stole Chris Hogan away from the Bills. In Buffalo for three seasons in which he saw the field (four total), Hogan caught 87 passes for 959 yards and six touchdowns. In two seasons with the Patriots, Hogan has caught 72 passes for 1,119 yards and nine touchdowns, adding 26 catches, 484 yards, and four touchdowns in postseason play.
There's no guarantee that Matthews turns into the next Hogan -- after all, the Patriots have missed on these type of signings before like, say, Malcolm Floyd and Reggie Wayne -- but the Patriots don't have much to lose, assuming they didn't give him that hefty of a contract. They've been absolutely gutted this offseason, losing Cooks (by choice), Amendola, Dion Lewis, Nate Solder, and Malcolm Butler. The Patriots have responded in typical Belichickian fashion by signing low-risk, high-reward players like defensive end Adrian Clayborn and now Matthews.
If the signing does work out, it'll be used as just another example of how the Patriots have embarrassed their AFC East rivals on and off the field. If it doesn't, hardly anyone will remember it.
