Among the cavalcade of transactions for the Patriots on
Monday - including the release of FB Spencer Larsen and the extension of TE
Aaron Hernandez – none comes as more of a surprise/disappointment than the
release of WR Donte’ Stallworth.
Given the logjam at Wide Receiver this offseason, it was
understood that Stallworth may be a bubble player at the final cut to the
53-man roster. Competing with Deion Branch would prove to be an insurmountable
task, as Branch has a long-standing rapport with Tom Brady. On the other end,
Stallworth was also up against Jabar Gaffney, another favorite of Brady.
Gaffney was also a specialist in Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels’ offenses
from 2006-08.
Though Stallworth had proved himself worthy with the Patriots
– he led the league in Yards After Catch during the Patriots record-breaking
2007 season – reclaiming his spot in New England was an uphill battle from the
start. Stallworth has proven to be the type of player who does many things
well. Unfortunately, Bill Belichick has loaded the receiver’s unit with a
number of players who each do one task very well. In short, each receiver on
the roster can do one specific skill better than Stallworth. This, of course,
left Stallworth with no leverage in his case to make the Patriots’ roster.
There is hope for those who saw the good in Stallworth this
year. This offseason, he was good to the
media, and the media was good to him. Stallworth carried himself like a
textbook veteran throughout camp, coaching up the younger receivers and
refining his skills with the older guys. While his release is definite, don’t
be surprised at all if the Patriots bring him back midway throughout the season.
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