On August 24th, Dorsett suffered an injury to his foot, that saw him have surgery on November 3rd. Dorsett never got back to full health and missed the entire 2020 season.
Before leaving the Patriots, Dorsett would get open a couple of times a game and like Ryan Izzo, he was good for at least one big play a game. Dorsett was sliding into that Danny Amendola role.
In 2019 Dorsett had Tom Brady throwing him the ball. On the season Brady had a true completion percentage of 66 percent, with 75.9% of the passes he threw Dorsett being catchable. Dorsett was targeted 54 times catching 29 passes, with a true catch rate of 70.7 percent. He caught 397 yards and 5 touchdowns. Dorsett had a target separation rate of 1.72 which was good enough for 25th in the league. In comparison Byrd had a 1.77 in 2020.
Dorsett is 28 years old but he's only played in 71 of a possible 96 regular season games. If healthy, Dorsett can be a valuable number three or four pass catcher. Dorsett isn't commanding big money and wants to play. It's more about legacy than money for him.
Dorsett could be signed and come in and compete with the other pass catchers. He's an upgrade over everyone except for Byrd, Edelman, and Meyers. Dorsett is only a year removed from the playbook and should pick it up quick.
The problem is he wants to prove he can play. With all of Newton's struggles and with the possibility of Newton versus Stidham round two, and the Patriots looking like they have no other options, Dorsett may consider any other offer but New England.
Like with many free agent prospects, the Patriots may prove to be a hard sell, the only thing that might save them with Dorsett is he saw how Stidham performed in practice over the duration of 2019. If you view Dorsett as an upgraded depth piece over what the Patriots had in 2020, pray that Stidham was redshirted and not trash.
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