Cut day is always pretty interesting in the NFL. There are bound to be at least a few surprises as teams cut their roster down to 53 before the start of the regular season.
This year, one of the biggest surprises came from the New England Patriots. On Saturday, it was announced that the Patriots were releasing veteran wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.
Thomas signed with the Patriots in the offseason after tearing his Achilles late last year. But even prior to his injury, he had had his worst season in years. Thomas recorded just 59 receptions for 677 yards and five touchdowns in 15 games split between the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans.
While those numbers are still solid, they're not the ones everyone's used to seeing with Thomas. With his Achilles issues, teams might be a little hesitant on him. However, he did show he still has it with a seven-reception, 87-yard and two-touchdown performance in the final week of the preseason.
Clearly, Thomas still has more than enough left in the tank to be a solid veteran receiver that a lot of teams should covet. Who exactly though? Here are three teams that should consider signing wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars made it known that they want to win now when they signed free-agent quarterback Nick Foles to a pretty hefty deal this offseason.
With an elite defense, the Jaguars were a win away from a Super Bowl appearance just two years ago. However, they took a major step backwards last season. The main reason for that was their play at the quarterback position.
Blake Bortles and Cody Kessler both struggled and it led to the offense looking completely dead for a heavy majority of the season.
Nick Foles has come in to hopefully remedy that. He should at the very least be able to cut down on the turnovers and get the Jaguars into better field position often.
There's a catch though, Jacksonville doesn't exactly have a star-studded wide receiver corps. They definitely have some interesting names. Dede Westbrook and Marqise Lee are solid, and both Chris Conley and Keelan Cole flashed potential last year.
With that group comes a lot of question marks though. Adding a proven veteran receiver like Demaryius Thomas could be exactly what the doctor ordered to get this offense to the next level.
Green Bay Packers
This one's pretty self-explanatory. The Green Bay Packers have one of the best quarterbacks of all-time in Aaron Rodgers. That wide receiver corps though, it's … yucky.
Davante Adams is a legitimate superstar. He's one of the best in the NFL and sat near the top of the league in a whole bunch of categories last year.
However, behind Adams the group is simply not good. Marquez Valdes-Scantling had a very strong rookie year but he's not a number two. Geronimo Allison flashed potential last year before injuries shelved him, but he's not yet completely proven.
Jake Kumerow's a question mark, and so are Trevor Davis and Darrius Shepherd. Equanimeous St. Brown has potential but didn't show much last year and is on the IR and out for the season anyway.
The Packers could desperately use a proven name. We've seen what Rodgers can do when he has multiple serious targets to throw to. He puts up obvious MVP numbers. If Green Bay was smart they'd have already called Demaryius Thomas and tried to work something out.
New England Patriots
Yes, seriously. The New England Patriots just cut Demaryius Thomas but there are reports that they're interested in bringing him back.
Hopefully, for the Patriots those reports are true. New England doesn't have a bad receiving corps by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, they're leaps and bounds better than the other two teams I mentioned.
That being said, they do have some issues.
Julian Edelman's only played a full 16 games once in the last five years. He's dealing with an injury at the moment. Rookie N'Keal Harry is also dealing with an injury. Josh Gordon has played 22 games in the last five years.
Do you see where a problem might arise?
It also helps that Demaryius Thomas seems like the perfect match for both Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. He's got a great combination of size (6'3″), speed and hands that would make him an absolute menace in the Patriots offense if utilized properly.
Thomas even showed in the preseason that he was healthy and could produce in New England. Hopefully, they rethink this cut.
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