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On Branch it's a two way street and I think both sides made mistakes and learned an unfortunate lesson in the process...
Brandon Meriweather, James Harrison hits deserve hefty punishment - Peter King - SI.com
Sometimes, the lure of moving should be ignored. Sometimes, the grass isn't greener on the other side. If Deion Branch were honest with himself, he'd look himself in the mirror and say, "I should never have left New England four years ago.'' And in the wake of his best game in the NFL since the day he won the Super Bowl MVP nearly six years ago, there was no way the bubbly Branch could avoid the topic of what might have been.
"I think about it a lot,'' he told me over the phone from the Patriots' locker room. "My brother and my father do too. They say, 'You'd be ready to put a gold [Hall of Fame] jacket on if you stayed.' ''
Probably not, but Branch, after catching nine balls for 98 yards and a touchdown Sunday in the Patriots' win over Baltimore, understands what he lost -- and what he may have to gain inthe near future.
"It's easy to say that now versus back then, and I wish ... well ... but we can't go back on it. We could easily factor in what went wrong, but right now, but I'm very thankful and honored to be back where I belong, and I'm not looking back or anything,'' Branch said.
Branch played four years in New England, 2002-05. By the end, he'd become Brady's go-to receiver. In his two Super Bowls -- wins over Carolina and Philadelphia -- Branch caught 21 passes for 276 yards. Four of his eight Patriot playoff games were 100-yard receiving affairs.
In 2006, Branch held out from training camp with the Patriots. He forced a trade to Seattle, which gave up a first-round 2007 draft pick to New England to get him.
In Seattle, Branch was given a six-year, $39 million contract. In New England, the last offer to Branch was approximately six years, $36 million.
Last week, Branch was traded back to New England. To make the trade happen, Branch lowered his 2011 compensation by $3.65 million. That makes his original contract from 2006 now worth six years and $35.35 million. Now, there's no guarantee the Patriots wouldn't have tried to cut Branch's salary. But I ask you this: Where would Branch have had his best chance to be productive: with the team that drafted him, quarterbacked by an all-timer who had great chemistry with him, consistently in one of the best offenses in football ... or with a team with an oft-injured quarterback, adjusting to a new offensive system, and with three head coaches in five years?
In hindsight, it was an idiotic move, holding out and forcing the Patriots to trade him. The Seahawks traded for an impact receiver, and what they got was a pedestrian one. In 54 career games in Seattle, including the playoffs, Branch had three 100-yard games. In his last 34 games in Seattle, 24 times he was held to 50 receiving yards or fewer. Branch's impact with the Seahawks, basically, was nil.
In his last six New England playoff games, including one when he was named the MVP of the Super Bowl, Branch had more 100-yard receiving games than he had in his 54-game career in Seattle. Now Branch is 31, trying to acclimate himself to his old team in his ninth year. He's in his twilight. The big move in 2006, in essence, was for no more money. It's sad, really. But Branch wasn't sad Sunday. He was feeling the love from a crowd that treated him like he never left. The quarterback treated him that way too.
Brandon Meriweather, James Harrison hits deserve hefty punishment - Peter King - SI.com