Reggie Wayne officially decided to sign a one-year contract with the New England Patriots a few days ago, and it was a move that many believe will help New England’s offense in a big way. It wasn’t a popular move for Wayne’s former fan base in Indianapolis, but the Colts were the ones that chose to move on from him in favor of Andre Johnson in the first place.
New England has been very good with veteran additions over the years, and have seen quite a few of their veteran additions be major pieces in their success. Can Wayne be the next “veteran savior” for the Patriots in 2015?
During the 2014 season with the Colts, Wayne dealt with a couple different nagging injuries that held him back. He still was able to catch 64 passes for 779 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers may not look all that great, but for a player that was dealing with injuries in a crowded offense, they are going to translate nicely with Tom Brady and the Patriots.
There is no question that Wayne is primed to have at least one more big season. He isn’t going to head into New England and put up superstar numbers, but he will be the same type of possession wide receiver that he has been for the Colts over the past few seasons.
At 36 years old, Wayne is being written off by quite a few analysts that don’t think he has much football left in the tank. That might be the case if he was being counted on to be a number one receiver, but all the Patriots are asking for from him is to be is a consistent number three target. Both Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell can shoulder the top two wide receiver spots.
Nothing can replace veteran experience either, and Wayne has plenty of that moving forward. He may not have the same kind of athleticism that he once had, but he is still more than capable of using his football IQ to make plays.
Just like with any other sport, players can figure out ways to adapt as they age to remain relevant. Wayne is far from being done, and he wants to prove that to every single person that doubted him throughout this free agency process. It is obvious that Bill Belichick doesn’t doubt him, and bringing him on board is a perfect way to feed the better rivalry that the Patriots have with the Colts as well.
To answer the original question very quickly, there is no doubt that Wayne will step up and be one of the key players for the Patriots this season. He is going to be asked to shoulder a fairly big role in the offense, and that is exactly what he was hoping for when he decided to sign with the Patriots.
Looking ahead at the upcoming season, fans should expect to see Wayne come through with consistent production each and every week. It will be strange to see him in a jersey other than the Colts’ uniform, but he’ll still look like the same old Wayne that helped Andrew Luck in a big way over the past few seasons.
