Aaron Dobson's Setbacks Nothing He Can't Handle in New England

As Julian Edelman hobbled off the field in Green Bay, Aaron Dobson—active for only the fourth time in his sophomore season—saw his chance to make an impact. A tweaked hamstring on a "9" route a few plays later shattered that dream, an all too familiar tale for the young wideout. Dobson's story, however, is far from being over.

The prologue to Dobson's tale involved a tumultuous rookie season that ended on a mixed note. Dobson's talent and big-play ability flashed during a three-game stretch that saw him catch 13 balls for 228 yards and three scores. The next week Dobson would develop a stress fracture in his foot, an injury that bothered him all the way into the preseason of 2014.

Dobson spoke with Mike Reiss of ESPN.com about his injury issues last December and his mindset moving forward:

"

Just dealing with adversity. You go through a lot of it -- the whole game is like life, you have ups, downs, interceptions, dropped passes. You have to learn how to shake it off and move on to the next thing, whatever it is, and embrace it.

It's been fun. A lot of ups and downs, injuries and things. It's been a great ride and I'm just glad I got to the point I wanted to be, the NFL, which is a dream come true. Hopefully I have a lot of football left.

"

That level of maturity will go a long way in his potential recovery from his latest hamstring tweak and trying to earn more of a role in the offense this offseason. Hard work doesn't seem to be the issue. Dobson earned the coveted black "Practice Player of the Week" jersey for his hard work leading up to Week 13 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The lack of patience that Patriots fans have in Dobson is a bit extreme—his mentions on Twitter are very NSFW right now—considering that the main reason he hasn't seen the field is the fantastic development of Brandon LaFell. Just as Dobson regained his health, LaFell exploded onto the scene. Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski, Shane Vereen, Danny Amendola and Tim Wright were always going to get their snaps, so there just wasn't enough room for another character in this chapter.

Even if he doesn't miss any time this year with his hamstring injury, Dobson will be a No. 4 receiver at best barring injury. If you're holding out hope for a large contribution in 2014, it looks like a long shot.

Moving forward, though, Dobson will have at least one more offseason to try to integrate himself into the offense. One Patriots receiver might not be so lucky. According to OverTheCap.com, moving on from Amendola will clear $4.5 million in cap space, while Dobson is still playing on his rookie contract. That alone could open up a spot on the field.

Dobson still has the size, speed and hands to contribute as an "X" receiver in New England. Imagine LaFell at "Z", Edelman in the slot, Gronkowski at the "Y", Wright at "F" and Dobson manning the outside "X" receiver position. I'm not sure any defense can hang with those weapons.

A full offseason with New England will also do wonders for Brady's trust. The framework for the offense is built with players that Brady and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can rely on. If Dobson is in that conversation during May-August, that will bode well for his playing time come September.

Dobson may be forever linked to some complementary characters—Terrance Williams and Keenan Allen were drafted just after he was—but his act hasn't reached its climax just yet. Look for Dobson to spill plenty of ink—be it good or bad—before his career in New England is done.