It was probably a long shot that he would have signed here anyway, even if he had hit FA. I would have taken him back no question, but I'll reiterate what I said in the original DA thread: We don't need a player we've already had to fix the WR situation. Draft struggles aside, we've pretty consistently found players who gel with this team, be it via trade or FA. If Brady stays, I have no reason to believe they won't do so again.
Amendola reportedly signed for $4.5 Million. I can't see the Patriots spending that on a 34 year old WR with his limited production these past few years. It looks like the Lions were willing to pay a little extra for some locker room presence.