Patriots Sign WR Danny Amendola

The New England Patriots officially announced the signing of free agent Danny Amendola today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The New England Patriots announced the signing of free agent WR Danny Amendola. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to reports, Amendola was given a 5-year, $31 million deal with $10 million guaranteed.

“We are excited about Danny’s addition to our team," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said via a team statement. "We look forward to beginning work with him this spring and into the future.”

The Patriots were in ongoing discussions to re-sign veteran wideout Wes Welker until talks broke down.  Welker agreed to join the Denver Broncos on a 2-year, $12 million deal. New England's final offer to Welker was for a reported 2-years and $10 million.

Amendola has big shoes to fill in the New England offense.  Five of Welker's past six seasons in Foxboro he has caught over 100 balls for over 1,000 yards -- an NFL record.   Amendola's best season was 2010, when he caught 85 passes for 689 yards. 

Durability has also been a concern for Amendola.  Whereas Welker never failed to complete a seaston in New England, Amendola has just one full complete season ('10) during his four year career. 

Amendola appeared in in 42 games (17 starts), recording 196 receptions for 1,726 yards and seven touchdowns. On specials teams, Amendolar recorded 89 punt returns for 934 yards and 188 kickoff returns for 2,776 yards.  In 2010 he led the league with  2,364 all purpose yards; 689 receiving yards, 81 rushing yards, 452 punt return yards and 1,142 kickoff return yards.

 The 5-foot-11, 188-pound  Texas Tech product was originally signed by Dallas as a rookie free agent in 2008. He spent the  2008 season split between the Cowbloys and the Eagles practic esquads.  In 2009 he was signed by the St. Louis Rams.

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