{"id":45054,"date":"2018-06-20T18:23:20","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T22:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=45054"},"modified":"2018-06-20T18:23:20","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T22:23:20","slug":"eric-decker-names-the-new-england-patriots-as-a-good-fit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2018\/06\/20\/eric-decker-names-the-new-england-patriots-as-a-good-fit\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Decker Names the New England Patriots as a &#8220;Good Fit&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a recent interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, free agent wide receiver <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/D\/DeckEr00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eric Decker<\/a><\/strong> deemed the New England Patriots a \u201cgood fit\u201d. Decker spoke of his relationship with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who initially drafted him during his <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Denver Broncos<\/a>\u00a0head coaching tenure and previous interest from the Patriots.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Free Agent WR <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EricDecker87?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@EricDecker87<\/a>: I think the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Patriots?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Patriots<\/a> would be a good fit and being drafted by Josh McDaniels in Denver.  I talked with New England last year during the Free Agency process in June.  That is always an option that I would definitely love to entertain. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/t47ylZqqrB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/t47ylZqqrB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SiriusXMNFL\/status\/1009480259991896064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 20, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h1>New England Patriots Deemed a \u201cGood Fit\u201d for Eric Decker<\/h1>\n<p>Decker, who played the 2017 season as a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tennessee Titans<\/a>, seemed to take a grand step back in productivity upon entering the Music City. Returning from an injury-marred 2016 season, Decker struggled to find a fit in the Titans\u2019 offense. Playing in all 16 regular season games, Decker accumulated 563 receiving yards, his lowest total since his rookie campaign (not counting 2016 in which he played only three games). This total came off of 54 catches, which ranked his lowest mark since his second NFL season in 2011.<\/p>\n<p>Such numbers show a great regression from Decker\u2019s most famous days as a member of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/M\/MannPe00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peyton Manning<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s record-setting Broncos, and the Patriots\u2019 rival <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Jets<\/a>. In each stint, Decker amassed 3,070 yards and 2,183 yards, respectively. The Titans\u2019 passing attack faced routine struggles throughout 2017. Often drawing the top coverage option from opposing defenses, Decker struggled to gain both separation and targets in a lower-level Titans air attack.<\/p>\n<p>The rumors of a Decker-Patriots marriage is not a new idea to the New England fan base. The two sides had a reported mutual interest last offseason. No formal contract came to be, and Decker signed a one-year deal with the Titans.\u00a0However, with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/E\/EdelJu00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Julian Edelman<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s pending suspension for PED usage, the loss of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/C\/CookBr00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brandin Cooks<\/a><\/strong>, and uncertainty throughout the <a href=\"http:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2018\/05\/13\/resetting-the-new-england-patriots-wide-receiver-depth-chart\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">depth chart<\/a>, Decker could provide an intriguing<a href=\"http:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2018\/06\/11\/backup-plans-during-julian-edelmans-suspension\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> replacement option<\/a> for the Patriots and an aging <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BradTo00.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tom Brady<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Patriots have also been linked to former <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/nfl-teams\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a>\u2019 star receiver <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BryaDe01.htm?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dez Bryant<\/a><\/strong>, but the odds of Bryant joining the Patriots grow slimmer every day. Decker could provide an interesting piece to the Patriots\u2019 receiving core if he signs a similar deal to 2017.<\/p>\n<p>Main photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"2SdY5VCvR8lLWfl0P-4kUQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/904656784\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'2SdY5VCvR8lLWfl0P-4kUQ',sig:'jp1j1F5DqoSWqbrNCfIKee0szu66QNZ3YUQhxt9cvM8=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'904656784',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eric Decker; In a recent interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, free agent wide receiver Eric Decker deemed the New England Patriots a \u201cgood fit\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2536,"featured_media":45093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,5],"tags":[266,558,61,38,218,40,58],"class_list":["post-45054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-patriots","tag-denver-broncos","tag-eric-decker","tag-football","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl","tag-tennessee-titans"],"modified_by":"David Latham, Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}