Michael Floyd’s arrival in Foxborough on Friday combined two recurring and prominent storylines for the New England Patriots – their constant (yet mostly failed) search for a big wide receiver, and their willingness to give second (or third) chances.
At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Floyd definitely qualifies as a big receiver. The former first-round pick and 1,000-yard receiver is also in need of redemption.
He was charged with a second DUI on Monday (his first came in 2011 while at Notre Dame) and released by the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday. The Patriots showed their willingness to offer second chances by signing Floyd on Thursday, throwing him into practice Friday and bringing him to Denver for today’s game against the Broncos, although he probably won’t play.
As someone who drives in New England, I’m a little nervous about sharing the roads with Floyd. As a human, I’m in favor of giving people extra chances. As a Patriots fan, I’m okay that my team is willing to take a risk on guys.
That philosophy doesn’t always work, of course. No one in New England should be proud that Aaron Hernandez played for the local team. The Albert Haynesworth experiment was a failure, same for Chad Ochocinco.
But there have been success stories among the reclamation projects.
Randy Moss rode into town in 2007 on the same double wave of New England narratives that brought Floyd – “Big receiver sings Redemption Song.” Moss and Tom Brady then proceeded to rewrite the offensive record books. Corey Dillon arrived with plenty of baggage in 2004, and then rushed for 1,635 yards for the ’04 title team.
And just this year, Bill Belichick has signed a crowd of castoff former first-round picks (Chris Long, Shea McClellin and Barkevious Mingo) and second-rounders (Kyle Van Noy, Eric Rowe). They may not have the character issues Floyd brings, but they have gotten fresh starts in New England after struggling with their old teams.
None of those players have had the impact of a Moss or Dillon, not even close. And it wouldn’t surprise if Floyd, with little time to assimilate, ended up closer to a Mingo, “Oh yeah, I forgot they signed him,” than even the modest contributions of a McClellin, “That blocked field goal, though.”
Floyd’s practice time with New England will be mere days and he’ll only have three regular-season games to make a public impression. Plus, receivers have a notoriously tough time fitting in with Brady and the Pats. That’s the reason for the decadeslong big-receiver quest. That’s why high draft picks were used on Chad Jackson, Taylor Price and Aaron Dobson. That’s why free agent money has been spent on players like David Terrell and Chad Ochocinco.
There are, however, reasons to believe Floyd may succeed in New England, as long as he can keep himself straight off the field.
First, the guy is talented. Just three seasons ago he had 1,041 yards on 65 catches. Those numbers dropped in 2014 (47 catches, 841 yards) and 2015 (52 catches, 849 yards), but Floyd was also targeted less (112 in 2013, 99 in ’14, 89 in ’15), and back-to-back 800-yard seasons are actually pretty impressive. Julian Edelman had a combined 1,664 receiving yards in 2014-15. Floyd had 1,690.
Floyd’s numbers are down again this season (33 catches, 446 yards), but so are the targets (71). More importantly, Arizona just hasn’t been very good this year. The Cardinals are 5-7-1 after going 13-3 last season and 11-5 in 2014.
New England cornerback Logan Ryan has trained with Floyd in Arizona for the last four offseasons, and Ryan knows all about Floyd’s abilities.
“He’s a big guy, a big-bodied receiver. But he’s not just a big guy playing receiver,” Ryan said Friday. “He definitely has a lot of receiver traits: natural hands, he’s really good at tracking the deep ball, he has good feet for a guy his size. I think the size of him is a little bigger than people expect, and how well he moves for that size and how he gets in and out of breaks is pretty impressive.”
Ryan also spoke about Floyd, the person.
“Off the field, he’s a real good guy,” Ryan said. “I know he was excited about this year, I know he put a lot of work in, so I’m excited that he gets a chance to do something with it, and maybe when he gets here to play in some big games. I’m happy he’s here and I’m sure he’s hungry for a second chance.”
Larry Fitzgerald, Floyd’s teammate in Arizona for the last five years, also spoke highly of Floyd’s character.
“Contrary to reports, Mike was never like an immature guy,” Fitzgerald said after Floyd’s release. “He had his incident in college but we all make mistakes. I’ve made mine. Everybody in this locker room. Everybody in life has made mistakes. When you play in the National Football League, you’re under the microscope and everything you do is micromanaged. So, Mike is a good young man. He’s somebody I highly respect and care about deeply and I just hope he finds himself in a situation that he’s happy with and he can have a long prosperous career.”
Finally, Floyd has a head start on the complex offense that has derailed so many other receivers in Foxborough. While he was at Notre Dame, Floyd played for former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who spoke about Floyd on WEEI’s Kirk and Callahan Show on Friday.
“How many places can you go to where you know 75 percent of the verbiage walking in the door?” Weis said. “With Josh’s tweaks and what’s matriculated over the last decade, the verbiage is still the same – formations are formations, the protection, the route, the sight adjust, they’re basically the same. There is just a 25 percent spin off you have. So you have a guy who comes in here who is a good player, doesn’t have to learn the system all over again, just learn the 25 percent that’s changed, mentally you have a big advantage of going to a lot of other places because you already kind of know what to do.”
From a fan’s point of view, it feels like we already know 75 percent of this story. What remains to be seen is what this first-round castoff, and big-bodied receiver, brings to New England in the end.
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341 or tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20.)