Report: Patriots Sign Former Broncos Receiver

The New England Patriots are all about giving depth to their receiver position. The team has signed former first round pick Corey Coleman, and now they are going after another former Broncos receiver.

The Patriots inked a deal with the former Broncos receiver Bennie Fowler. He’s a great contribution to the receiver unit, as confirmed by ESPN’s Field Yates.

The two latest additions are making up for the loss of Chad Hansen and Riley McCarron. Both receivers were waived on Monday.

Fowler is a former undrafted free agent in 2016 out of Michigan. He spent most of his career in Denver. The receiver played 45 games with the Broncos, totaling 56 catches for 698 yards and five touchdowns. Fowler signed a deal with the Chicago Bears this offseason, but was released after the final roster cuts.

The wide receiver will join Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, Cordarrelle Patterson and Corey Coleman. Patriots’ receiving unit lacks depth, but the team still managed to win the game against the Houston Texans. Chris Hogan had 1 reception for 11 yards, and Dorsett confirmed himself as a capable pass catcher for quarterback Tom Brady. He hauled in all seven of his targets for 66 yards and a touchdown.

The addition of these receivers adds depth at the unit. But, will they be able to speed with the Patriots offense? Phillip Dorsett joined the team at the same last year, and struggled to get the footing. It took him an entire offseason to get ready and contribute.

Tom Brady tried to raise his teammates play in order to match the defense. “I think that’s the point of playing football. It’s not, ‘Oh, this guy, this is what his level of expectation is. That’s what we should put the team’s expectation at.’ It’s if you’re playing in the slot, you’ve got to play as well as any slot receiver we’ve ever had. If you play on the perimeter, you’ve got to play as well as any receiver we’ve ever had – tight end, quarterback, running back – and guys can play up to that. I think you can’t sit there and coach or communicate and go, ‘Oh, well, that’s OK because you’re not quite there yet.’ I mean, I think you’ve got to coach hard and you’ve got to correct guys and you’ve got to correct yourself and have high expectation for yourself, and that’s how you have high expectation for the team,” the quarterback said.

Good luck, Pats!