The New England Patriots are in a dire situation when it comes to their pass-catchers. Tom Brady looked desperate for help in the team’s loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football.
Brady finished with over 300 passing yards, but most of that production came in the fourth quarter when the Texans loosened coverage. (And perhaps they got too loose as New England narrowed the lead to a 28-22 finish which was much closer than the game felt.) But Brady’s issues seemed to stem from a lack of help, particularly at receiver.
Perhaps Hall of Fame cornerback and current NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders knows something we don’t.
“I guarantee it, something’s going to happen within the next few weeks in the receiver department,” Sanders said on “NFL Gameday” earlier this week. “They’ve got to get (Tom Brady) some help, because what I saw (Sunday) was ridiculous.”
"To get to the Super Bowl and win it, like they're accustomed to doing, it's not gonna happen unless they make some adjustments out wide."@DeionSanders shares his thoughts on the defending champions 👇 (via @NFLGameDay Prime) pic.twitter.com/SUJV3Pnhvi
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) December 2, 2019
Rob Gronkowski cannot return — the retired tight end elected to stay out of the league and missed the deadline to fill out the paperwork for a potential return in 2019.
There is really only one player who can help the Patriots. That’s receiver Antonio Brown. He spent 11 games with New England but faced allegations of sexual assault and accusations of sexual harassment. He also sent threatening text messages to his second accuser, according to Sports Illustrated. After all that transpired during his tenure with the Patriots, Bill Belichick cut him.
A reunion feels extremely unlikely, even with Sanders’ strange guarantee.