Even though New England signed 5-foot-9 wide receiver Damiere Byrd on Wednesday, the team has still shown interest in bringing back one of their own.
The Patriots are still showing interest in Phillip Dorsett, per source. Dorsett currently has multiple offers and is weighing his options.
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) March 19, 2020
Dorsett opened 2019 red-hot, but an injury suffered on a touchdown reception in Philadelphia in Week 11 hindered his play down the stretch.
Through the speedy wideout’s first eight games, he had 23 receptions for 299 yards and four touchdowns. In his final five games (including the game at Philadelphia and playoffs), Dorsett tallied just seven receptions for 104 yards. His lone touchdown in the final stretch was the one that injured him in the first place.
His targets saw a decline as well, going from 37 (4.6 a game) in his first eight games to 17 (3.4) in his final five. Is that simply because he wasn’t getting separation? Was he playing hurt? Who knows? He did only played north of 50 percent on offensive snaps once in his final five games, whereas he did so six times in his first eight.
It’s always hard to detect what Bill Belichick’s plan is entering an offseason, especially on the offensive side of the ball. However, one can infer that he has a special interest in speed to open the new NFL year.
The aforementioned Byrd ran a 4.32 40-yard dash, and Dorsett’s was 4.33 when he got drafted in 2015. While it doesn’t necessarily translate to on-field success, changing the offensive gameplan and “getting with the times” could be just what the doctor ordered for the Tom Brady-less Patriots.
