Breaking Down the New England Patriots' Options with Danny Amendola

When the New England Patriots signed Danny Amendola to a five-year, $28.5 million contract in 2013, many fans believed it was too much money and too long a deal for a player who had proven to be too prone to injury in his short career. 

The devil, however, is always in the details. The Patriots structured Amendola's contract in such a way that they gave themselves an escape hatch two years into the deal, making it basically a two-year, $8.275 million contract—not shockingly, the same length and similar value as Wes Welker's contract with the Denver Broncos.

According to sports contracts website Spotrac, the Patriots could cut Amendola and save themselves $2.1 million of his $5.7 million cap hit, with the other $3.6 million counting against the salary cap as dead money if they choose to do that. 

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Amendola showed he has what it takes to be an impact player in the Patriots offense with a strong showing in the home stretch of the season and an even stronger postseason stretch. In the final five games (regular season and postseason), Amendola logged 23 catches for 224 yards and three touchdowns (all three touchdowns in the postseason).

For context, those five games were similar to his production for the entire regular season (27 catches, 200 yards, one touchdown).

It once seemed like a lock that the Patriots would move on from Amendola after the 2014 season, but has he become worth the money? That's a question the Patriots must be asking themselves this offseason. Depending on their answer, here are some of the ways they can address the situation.

Keep Him At His Current Salary

Year	Salary cap hit	Cap savings if cut	Dead money if cut
2015	$5,700,000	$2,100,000	$3,600,000
2016	$6,700,000	$4,300,000	$2,400,000
2017	$7,700,000	$6,500,000	$1,200,000

As mentioned, the home stretch of the 2014 season was a coming-out party for Amendola, as the six-year veteran began looking like the receiver the Patriots hoped they were getting all along.

A $5.7 million cap hit is not too much at all for a second or third receiver, but Amendola is more like the third or fourth receiver when you account for wide receivers Julian Edelman and Brandon LaFell, and tight end Rob Gronkowski. 

The Patriots could always keep Amendola for one more year, giving him a third and final opportunity to prove his ability and durability. If Amendola is unable to do so, the Patriots could then move on before the 2016 season, when they would save $4.3 million against the salary cap by parting ways with him.

Cut Him

As we speak, the Patriots are projected to be $4.2 million over the salary cap. That's also taking cornerback Darrelle Revis' $25 million cap hit into consideration. In order to keep Revis, safety Devin McCourty and other important free agents, the Patriots will have to start pinching pennies like their name is Ebenezer Scrooge.

Mike Loyko of NEPatriotsDraft.com thinks Amendola's contract is far too rich, and it would be much easier to just let him go. 

That being said, a $2.1 million savings is a pittance compared to the potential value of a healthy Amendola. Even if Amendola is not a key component to the Patriots offense as a starter going forward, he is still of incredible value as a backup to slot receiver Julian Edelman. "Minitron" has had some injuries in his career, as well, but he's been able to avoid them over the past two seasons, playing all 16 games both times.

The presence of top-end talent in the passing game is not a question, but if Amendola is released, the lack of depth at receiver would become immediately apparent. 

Restructure His Contract

There's always the possibility that the Patriots could save money by restructuring his contract. This would be a little out of character for the Patriots, but not completely out of question. Vince Wilfork's contract was restructured just last season in an effort to create some salary-cap relief.

If Amendola and the Patriots can agree he's not worth the $5.5 million average over the next three seasons, Miguel Benzan of PatsFans.com outlines several potential methods for reworking Amendola's deal. This one, in particular, stands out:

"

Danny Amendola could agree to lower his salary and he would have the chance to earn the money back by reaching NLTBE incentives. The incentives could be for

1. Receptions – Anything more than 27 receptions would be NLTBE
2. Receiving Yards – Anything more than 200 receiving yards would be NLTBE
3. Receiving TDs – Anything more than 1 receiving TD would be NLTBE
4. Wins – Anything more than 12 wins would be NLTBE

These incentives could have different levels. One example is
250 yards – is worth $250,000
500 yards – is worth another $250,000 for a total of $500,000
800 yards – is worth another $500,000 for a total of $1 million

"

They could also rework his entire deal to give him less cash over the next three years and include a signing bonus to sweeten the pot. 

Amendola's emergence in the playoffs should be a signal to the Patriots that his presence is valuable. He may not be a dominant player at his position, but he could be one of the most important players on the depth chart simply for his value behind Edelman as a backup slot receiver.

That being said, backup slot receivers don't usually make upward of $5 million, so the Patriots and Amendola should be working on coming to an agreement on a long-term solution.

Unless otherwise noted, all salary cap and contract information provided by Spotrac.