Report: Patriots Made Their Final Decision On Jordan Matthews

Jordan Matthews has had some hard time lately dealing with a significant hamstring injury that has kept him out of practice since Sunday’s session when he injured it.

Matthews was running a route against Jason McCourty on a 1-on-1 drill and found himself on the ground as the ball landed incomplete. He got up easy, but was seen grabbing his upper right leg. The wide out was then checked out by the trainers in the blue medical tent and didn’t complete the practice.

The injury initially wasn’t looked at as anything too serious and Jordan was supposed to miss just a few days, but things took a turn for the worst, as the wide receiver was released from the team on Wednesday.

Matthews signed a one-year deal with the Patriots earlier this offseason. Before landing in Foxboro, he spent the 2017 season with the Buffalo Bills, where he also dealt with injuries. Matthews was even placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury early last December.

2015 proved to be Matthews’ most productive season in the NFL. With the Philadelphia Eagles he totaled 85 catches for 997 yards and eight touchdowns.

Now that Jordan Matthews’ time with the New England Patriots has come to a swift end, the team is left with Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Cordarrelle Patterson, Malcolm Mitchell, Phillip Dorsett, Kenny Britt,  Braxton Berrios, Riley McCarron, Paul Turner and Devin Lucien as their receiving group on the 90-man roster.

One name to keep an eye on for the Patriots to add to help bolster this group is current free agent wide out Eric Decker. Earlier this offseason, Decker expressed his desire to play for the Patriots which would help him fulfill his wish to contend for a Super Bowl. Also, he might fit well in the team given his familiarity with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

With the Titans last season, Decker caught 54 of his 83 targets for 563 yards and one touchdown through 16 regular season games. Through two playoff games last year, Decker caught eight passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, which ended up being the game winner against the Chiefs in the Wildcard Round