NFL Rumors: New England Patriots Must Sign Brandon Lloyd for Tom Brady To Thrive

Despite the odds that faced QB Tom Brady and his New England Patriots throughout the 2011-2012 campaign, the team was able to make Super Bowl appearance and near victory.

The 2011-12 season was a year in which Brady was faced with many obstacles.

On the defensive end, the Patriots was nearly the first team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl while also boasting the worst defense in yards allowed per game during the regular season.

On his side of the football, Brady was without a consistent, major deep threat at the WR position on offense, yet found a way to do it with two of the more promising, young tight ends in football.

Now with the Patriots interested in WR Brandon Lloyd, this could well change for this team.

According to the Boston Globe's Boston.com, the Patriots are closing in on signing the top-notch wide receiver.

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A league source Friday night said that the 30-year-old Lloyd and the Patriots were “close’’ to coming to a contract agreement...Lloyd did numerous interviews before the start of free agency, and in nearly every one he praised the Patriots.

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Bringing in a guy like Lloyd to have line up on the outside would complete the array of receivers for Brady to throw to.

Last season with the St. Louis Rams and Denver Broncos, Lloyd went for an impressive 966 yards on 70 receptions and five touchdowns, all of which were recorded as a member of the Rams.

Time and time again, Brady was limited to throwing the ball down the middle of the field with Deion Branch, Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski catching the majority of their balls in this area of the field.

With Lloyd on the outside, it would be the first time that Brady has a deep ball threat lining up with him since the days of Randy Moss in New England. It was with Moss that Brady would throw an NFL-record 50 touchdown passes and a No. 2 best 117.2 passer rating for the entire season.

It's clear that head coach Bill Belichick understands that this will better serve Brady, who is now 34 years of age and heading into the final years of his NFL career. It will take that extra threat downfield to elevate this Patriots offense to the next level, something that Lloyd undoubtedly brings to the table.