<
        >

          NFL Nation

          What is realistic playing-time expectation for Danny Amendola?

          play
          Pats have ways to make up for Edelman's absence (1:55)

          Louis Riddick breaks down how New England is set up to withstand losing WR Julian Edelman to injury. (1:55)

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterAug 28, 2017, 03:14 PM
            Close
              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
            Follow on X

          FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Of all the layers of analysis after the New England Patriots lost receiver Julian Edelman for the season to a torn right ACL, the most succinct way to sum it up is this: When there has been a got-to-have-it play, quarterback Tom Brady has often felt most comfortable looking in Edelman's direction.

          That is a result of the trust built between them, which Brady highlighted many times Monday in his weekly interview on sports radio WEEI's "Kirk & Callahan" program.

          Thus, it was notable that Brady mentioned veteran receiver Danny Amendola first when assessing where the Patriots go from here. Brady has a similar level of trust with Amendola, as was evidenced in Super Bowl LI.

          Amendola was projected to be the No. 4 receiver behind Edelman, Chris Hogan and Brandin Cooks, but now moves up the depth chart to either "3A" or "3B" alongside Malcolm Mitchell (who has been slowed by a knee injury this preseason). That move comes with a critical question for the team to answer: What is the playing-time tipping point for Amendola to keep him as healthy as possible?

          The Patriots have managed Amendola's playing time carefully in recent years -- hoping to keep him healthy for the long haul -- with the 2016 season a good example.

          Through the first 12 games of 2016, Amendola averaged 22.1 offensive snaps per game. That ranked behind Edelman (57.2), Hogan (49.3) and Mitchell (29.9).

          In that 12th game of the season, the Patriots added to Amendola's responsibilities -- putting him back on punt returns to replace the struggling Cyrus Jones -- and he sustained an ankle injury that kept him out of the final four regular-season games. With more work for the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Amendola came more injury risk.

          So monitoring Amendola's workload has to be part of the Patriots' mindset, and here's what seems to be a realistic range to shoot for: 40-50 percent.

          The 2015 season, which was Amendola's most productive with the Patriots, saw him play 51.5 percent of the offensive snaps. He totaled 65 receptions for 648 yards and three touchdowns that year, appearing in 14 games (seven starts).

          In 2014, when he played the full 16-game regular season (four starts), Amendola was on the field for 41 percent of the offensive snaps.

          So if Amendola can play 40-50 percent of the offensive snaps this season, and if Mitchell's health improves to put him in position to help fill some of that void, that's the best in-house receiver-specific option to fill Edelman's void alongside Hogan and Cooks.