Marqise Lee’s injury woes came up a few times as he spoke to reporters on Wednesday during an introductory videoconference call.
Lee has recently dealt with knee and shoulder injuries, and his 2019 season was his least productive year of his career, with just three catches for 18 yards with the Jacksonville Jaguars. If he’s going to stay relevant in the NFL, the 28-year-old receiver will need to stay healthy in 2020. And he may need to fight his way up New England’s depth chart to get targets on Sundays. Even though he’s facing a competitive group of receivers, Lee liked the Patriots in free agency for obvious reasons.
“I just knew the last couple years, I didn’t really have the opportunity to go out there and do the things that I felt like I needed to do as a player,” Lee said. “And I felt like me choosing New England, just to go there this season was a sense of just trying to get back to myself. I felt, which place is a more perfect place to try to get back to yourself other than New England?”
It’s true that Bill Belichick has a track record of helping veterans find their way to production, whether they enjoy breakout seasons, like Kyle Van Noy did after getting traded from the Lions, or they return to form, like Jamie Collins did in 2019 and Patrick Chung has done in his second stint with the team. It doesn’t always work out. Dontrelle Inman, Maurice Harris, Nate Washington, Jordan Matthews and so many other receivers came looking for a resurgence in their careers — and they didn’t get it.
But Lee seems to be getting off on the right foot in New England. Amid a virtual offseason during the coronavirus pandemic, he understands, to some degree, how the team operates and he likes what he’s seen.
“Very strict, basically just all about football and handling your business,” he said. “I felt like I was a little bit off on that point with these last two injuries I had, so I just wanted to get back right on track and get everything back on point, and I feel like New England was the right place for me.”
It certainly seems that way. In fact, he already sounds like a Patriot.
“I’m the type of person who will give everything that he team needs to me to do.” Lee said ”Whatever they need me to do at the end of the day is what I’m willing to do regardless of what it is. That’s my main focus. I haven’t had the opportunity to really stay healthy in the league so my main focus right now is really just staying healthy.
“I’m just here. They need a body, a healthy body, I’m here to rock out.”
Lee joins a depth chart of receivers which includes Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Mohamed Sanu, Damiere Byrd, Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski, among others. Byrd is the only other veteran who joined in free agency, and though the team added a few interesting undrafted free agents, namely Miami’s Jeff Thomas and Auburn’s Will Hastings, they did not draft a receiver. Lee seems like a natural fit in the offense, with versatility to operate inside the slot and outside the numbers. If he can develop rapport with the team’s top quarterback, he has a shot to be a contributor in 2020.
[vertical-gallery id=86599]