Bill Belichick may have a lacrosse catch playing partner this season.
The Patriots have made it awfully tough for the Buffalo Bills to match the offer of a 3-year, $12 million-dollar contract for WR Chris Hogan and he’s reported to have signed his offer today according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. That would leave Buffalo five days to match the Patriots offer, but front-loaded with a $5.5 million cap hit in Year 1 will be very difficult for the Bills to counter.
The Patriots obviously learned their lesson when giving Emanuel Sanders a low-ball offer in 2013 that the Steelers ultimately matched.
Buffalo put the lowest RFA (restricted free agent) tender on Hogan at $1.67 million and have very little room under the cap. They’ll have to get very creative to save Hogan which would then beg the question, would they be doing it to save their player or to prevent him from going to their division rival Patriots?
Hogan, 6’1, 220-pounds played primarily in the slot for Buffalo but is a fast (4.47-40), good sized receiver who can play inside or outside and he was praised by QB Tyrod Taylor for his ability to run precise routes and get out of his breaks extremely quickly.
He’s only 27 and is very athletic (36” vertical, 6.74 3-Cone Drill); His football I.Q. is said to be very high, which is important when trying to master the Patriots difficult offense and route tree for wide receivers. He was nicknamed 7-11 during the HBO show “Hard Knocks” for his ability to always be open.
He’ll join Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola (for now), Chris Harper, Keshawn Martin and Aaron Dobson in the Patriots passing game. The fast, athletic Hogan should be an immediate fit in the offense and at a minimum should become a very good complimentary piece.
The clock is ticking Rex…
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A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)
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