New England Patriots wide receiver Reggie Wayne "asked for release, work environment to tough.... not fun," according to Scott Zolak who is a Patriots broadcaster.
It's almost remarkable that Wayne thought playing for the Patriots wasn't fun. What did he expect with head coach Bill Belichick? Belichick has always been a no-nonsense coach, and it seems pretty obvious to anyone who has seen his post-game press conferences. Belichick left nothing but respect for Wayne as he said, "Our parting was mutually agreed upon and I am personally grateful to have worked with one of the great NFL players of the past two decades," according to NFL reporter Ian Rapoport.
The 36-year-old receiver was looking to join a top contending team this offseason after leaving the Indianapolis Colts. Wayne's numbers have dropped in the past couple years, and even though he still made 62 receptions last year, he only recorded two touchdowns. Wayne has had a tremendous career, and he is one of six players in NFL history to have four seasons with more then a hundred receptions. The Colts picked up Andre Johnson this offseason, and the combination of him with T.Y. Hilton likely made the organization feel that Wayne was expendable.
Wayne was officially released from the team on Saturday, according to New England Patriots. Wayne's release wasn't the only big news from the Patriots on Saturday, as they placed Brandon LaFell on the physically unable to perform list. LaFell posted that he plans to return by Aug. 25, but obviously meant Oct. 25, and Rapoport also posted this date of return. Oct. 25 has New England meeting up with AFC East rival the New York Jets, and Patriot fans will likely be happy to see LaFell back on the field.
The Patriots will miss LaFell's productivity on the field, as he caught 74 passes for 953 yards last season. Belichick is known as the greatest plug and play coach of this generation, and he is likely to find someone to step up in LaFell's absence.
The Patriots still have arguably the best tight end in the league in Rob Gronkowski, and a top slot receiver in Julian Edelman. Players like Danny Amendola, Matthew Slater, and Aaron Dobson will need to make some impact without LaFell.
Last seasons' Super Bowl champs have some work to do, but even without Wayne and LaFell for a while, they should still be one of the top teams in the AFC. It will be interesting if Wayne were to sign later with the Patriots, but based on his comments, according to Zolak, the chance of that seems rare.
