The Patriots went after Adam Humphries after the slot receiver agreed to a four-year, $36 million deal with the Titans. Humphries opted to stay with his handshake agreement, though New England actually might have offered more.
“When I committed to Tennessee, obviously I’m a man of my word,” Humphries said in a press conference Thursday, via Paul Kuharsky of paulkuharsky.com. “I’m going to keep my word there. It’s tough. It’s a big decision, and it’s a decision that impacts me for the rest of my life. So I obviously put a lot of thought into that. Once I committed to Tennessee, I was really excited to be a Titan and still am.”
Humphries caught 76 passes for 816 yards as Tampa Bay’s slot receiver last season. He would have fit the Patriots offense.
“It’s definitely my understanding [the Patriots made an offer],” Humphries said. “That was something I was weighing the options of both teams, and it was tough. Obviously they have a lot of success with guys similar to me.”
The Patriots, in the market for a slot receiver, also went after Cole Beasley. Beasley said in his introductory press conference with the Bills that his decision came down to Buffalo, Dallas and New England.
The Patriots have receivers Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett, Braxton Berrios, Damoun Patterson and Matthew Slater under contract and on the roster for 2019. It’s obvious they want to add a receiver, and Golden Tate is among those left on the market.
