The days of Danny Amendola in New England could be coming to an end. The Patriots wide receiver could be pushed to take a pay cut thanks to the addition of Pro Bowl tight end Martellus Bennett and wide receiver Chris Hogan.
The Patriots don't need Amendola as badly as they did in 2015 and it is basically a new day for this New England offense. Tom Brady has two new fresh weapons that will likely be peppered with targets as soon as the season begins.
Amendola already took a pay cut during the 2015 season, which removed around $2.5 million from his cap hit. The Patriots are looking to do that again in 2016 and Amendola may refuse. He currently has a cap hit of $6.8 million this season and $7.87 million in 2017, so this could play itself all over again next season if he remains with the team.
The Patriots could free up around $4 million in cap space if the release Amendola and they might need it specifically to pay Martellus Bennett. The Patriots like running two tight end sets and could utilize those more now that they have two playmaking tight ends to lean on.
Amendola is only the Patriots slot receiver so he's not incredibly versatile, and at 30 years old he will be a tough sell to keep around for much longer. Amendola recorded seven starts, 65 receptions, 648 receiving yards, and three touchdowns during the 2015 NFL season.
Since Amendola has been with the Patriots, he has yet to start a full 16 games and will likely continue to miss time thanks to injury. Amendola will most likely be viewed by the Patriots as a replaceable player about to decline due to his age.
The newest Patriots wide receiver, Chris Hogan, is only 27 and has four seasons of experience in the NFL. Playing with the Bills he has never put up the numbers Amendola has, but he has never had a quarterback like Tom Brady. At 6-foot-1' Hogan is also a bigger target that should fit in nicely to whatever the Patriots have planned for him. Releasing Amendola would likely give the Patriots some more capital to make a couple of more roster moves before the 2016 NFL Draft.
