What the loss of Danny Amendola means for the Patriots

Danny Amendola is headed for South Florida.

The guy Matthew Slater once called “All-Weather Dola” will be signing with the Dolphins, according to a report from NFL Media. Details of the contract have not become public yet, but for a guy who took multiple pay cuts to stay with the Patriots over the course of his five seasons in New England, it’s likely a better-than-expected payday for the 32-year-old receiver.

Amendola leaves a remarkable legacy with the Patriots. On a team filled with high-profile offensive talent, he wasn’t the most overwhelming name on the depth chart. But in five seasons in New England, he had 230 catches for 2,383 yards and 12 touchdowns in the regular season, and was as dependable as they come: Since the start of the 2016 season, only two wide receivers have 80 or more catches and a catch rate of 73 percent or better in the regular season: Amendola and Cordarelle Patterson. Amendola is also the only Patriots wide receiver who has a catch rate of 72 percent or better who has at least 50 receptions.

BSJ analysis: So what does this mean for the Patriots?



From an X’s and O’s perspective, the loss of Amendola is perhaps the biggest in that he was able to line up in multiple spots. He could take the slot role — and did so frequently this past season when Julian Edelman was out. He could also operate on the outside as well as a potential intermediate threat. He wasn’t necessarily an elite-level player, but someone who could paper over some deficiencies, either because of injury or ineffectiveness. With the return of Edelman in 2018, the Patriots still appear to be well-stocked at wide receiver.

But Amendola’s versatility, skill set, toughness and willingness to sacrifice will be missed.

“He’s one of the all-time great teammates, no question about it,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said of Amendola in January. “Very unselfish. However big or small you tell him his role is going to be on a week-to-week basis, he embraces that. He prepares really hard. He cares about doing it right. He’s always ready to go, however much you need him or are going to use him, and he’s as competitive as anybody else we have. He plays hard on every single snap and will do anything for the team to help us win.”

He somehow managed to take his game to the next level when it came to the postseason. Christened “Danny Playoff” by Rob Gronkowski, his final act in a New England uniform was extraordinary — in the three playoff games this past season, Amendola had 26 catches on 33 targets (a catch rate of 79 percent) for 348 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That included 11 catches against the Titans in the division round, seven against the Jaguars in the AFC title game and eight (for 152 yards) in the Super Bowl against the Eagles.

In the AFC title game against Jacksonville, with the Patriots facing a key third-and-long in the third quarter and trailing the Jags, it was Amendola who came up with one of the plays of the year, a first-down reception that will go down as one of the most important of the season.



“I don’t know that I could give a greater compliment to a player than that, and he always plays big in the big games,” McDaniels added of the former Texas Tech product. “He’s a guy that you trust, that you want in the game, that you can count on and you know you’re always going to get his best effort.

“Like a lot of our guys, he can take himself to another level and try to do a little bit more than maybe what’s done in the past, and he does a great job of preparing hard to be able to do that. It’s a testament to him, how much he cares about his teammates and our team in general, and I love having the guy. It’s a privilege to coach people like him.”