Well, that escalated quickly. Two days ago, putting together the update, we ran with an ESPN beat writer's belief that Jordan Matthews was New England's likely slot receiver the first four weeks of the season, with Julian Edelman suspended. A couple of days and a hamstring injury later, Matthews has been waived. Next?
New England recently worked out Eric Decker, so that's one possibility. In-house options include rookie Braxton Berrios and second-year guy Riley McCarron, but the fact that Matthews was seemingly in the lead and that Decker's been worked out hints that they view those guys as more long-term options.
Malcolm Mitchell is still on the roster, but reports last week had him being shopped/possibly released. He's dealing with a knee injury, as well, making a trade unlikely. He underwent a "procedure," which apparently wasn't a surgery but isn't necessarily good for an oft-injured wideout.
Fair to wonder, though, how much Decker actually brings to the table at this point. He's 31, and while he used to have some downfield ability, he averaged a career-low 10.4 yards per catch with the Titans last season (at least 12.5 every other year in his career). He also averaged just 6.8 yards per target, a bottom-10 figure among the 54 wide receivers with at least 75 targets a year ago.
| WIDE RECEIVERS YARDS PER TARGET, 2017 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Tgt | Avg |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 58 | 917 | 7 | 79 | 11.6 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 75 | 1183 | 7 | 105 | 11.3 |
| Marvin Jones, Det. | 61 | 1101 | 9 | 107 | 10.3 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 88 | 1444 | 3 | 148 | 9.8 |
| Brandin Cooks, N.E. | 65 | 1082 | 7 | 114 | 9.5 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 101 | 1533 | 9 | 163 | 9.4 |
| Cooper Kupp, LAR | 62 | 869 | 5 | 94 | 9.2 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 56 | 781 | 5 | 85 | 9.2 |
| Marquise Goodwin, S.F. | 56 | 962 | 2 | 105 | 9.2 |
| Rishard Matthews, Tenn. | 53 | 795 | 4 | 87 | 9.1 |
| Keelan Cole, Jac. | 42 | 748 | 3 | 83 | 9.0 |
| Adam Thielen, Minn. | 91 | 1276 | 4 | 142 | 9.0 |
| Stefon Diggs, Minn. | 64 | 849 | 8 | 95 | 8.9 |
| Kelvin Benjamin, 2 tm | 48 | 692 | 3 | 78 | 8.9 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 57 | 966 | 4 | 109 | 8.9 |
| Paul Richardson, Sea. | 44 | 703 | 6 | 80 | 8.8 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 102 | 1393 | 6 | 159 | 8.8 |
| Sterling Shepard, NYG | 59 | 731 | 2 | 84 | 8.7 |
| Doug Baldwin, Sea. | 75 | 991 | 8 | 116 | 8.5 |
| Golden Tate, Det. | 92 | 1003 | 5 | 120 | 8.4 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 104 | 1245 | 5 | 149 | 8.4 |
| Robby Anderson, NYJ | 63 | 941 | 7 | 114 | 8.3 |
| Mike Wallace, Balt. | 52 | 748 | 4 | 92 | 8.1 |
| Nelson Agholor, Phil. | 62 | 768 | 8 | 95 | 8.1 |
| Kenny Stills, Mia. | 58 | 847 | 6 | 105 | 8.1 |
| Jermaine Kearse, NYJ | 65 | 810 | 5 | 102 | 7.9 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 96 | 1378 | 13 | 174 | 7.9 |
| Danny Amendola, N.E. | 61 | 659 | 2 | 86 | 7.7 |
| Jamison Crowder, Wash. | 66 | 789 | 3 | 103 | 7.7 |
| Adam Humphries, T.B. | 61 | 631 | 1 | 83 | 7.6 |
| Devin Funchess, Car. | 63 | 840 | 8 | 111 | 7.6 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 74 | 885 | 10 | 117 | 7.6 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 75 | 1078 | 8 | 143 | 7.5 |
| DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 50 | 668 | 3 | 90 | 7.4 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 71 | 1001 | 5 | 136 | 7.4 |
| Mohamed Sanu, Atl. | 67 | 703 | 5 | 96 | 7.3 |
| Marqise Lee, Jac. | 56 | 702 | 3 | 96 | 7.3 |
| Terrance Williams, Dall. | 53 | 568 | 0 | 78 | 7.3 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 109 | 1156 | 6 | 161 | 7.2 |
| Martavis Bryant, Pitt. | 50 | 603 | 3 | 84 | 7.2 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 66 | 653 | 4 | 92 | 7.1 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak. | 48 | 680 | 7 | 96 | 7.1 |
| DeVante Parker, Mia. | 57 | 670 | 1 | 96 | 7.0 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 83 | 949 | 5 | 140 | 6.8 |
| Eric Decker, Tenn. | 54 | 563 | 1 | 83 | 6.8 |
| Kendall Wright, Chi. | 59 | 614 | 1 | 91 | 6.7 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 57 | 789 | 9 | 120 | 6.6 |
| Josh Doctson, Wash. | 35 | 502 | 6 | 78 | 6.4 |
| Dez Bryant, Dall. | 69 | 838 | 6 | 132 | 6.3 |
| Brandon LaFell, Cin. | 52 | 548 | 3 | 89 | 6.2 |
| Jarvis Landry, Mia. | 112 | 987 | 9 | 161 | 6.1 |
| Michael Crabtree, Oak. | 58 | 618 | 8 | 101 | 6.1 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 47 | 555 | 2 | 92 | 6.0 |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 53 | 482 | 6 | 88 | 5.5 |
That being said, Decker was within a yard of Danny Amendola (7.7), so maybe New England won't mind short completions and a cloud of dust. They're really just trying to fill the void until Edelman returns in Week 5. Maybe Decker will be a fit.
--Andy Richardson