Even If He's Lost a Step, Reggie Wayne Makes Too Much Sense for Patriots

There's a reason six-time Pro Bowler Reggie Wayne remained on the open market for over five months this offseason.

Nobody, not even the veteran-addicted New England Patriots, were willing to give the 36-year-old a shot before the receiver-starved Pats finally caved and signed Wayne to a one-year contract on Monday, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. 

And that's because, by all indications, Wayne has almost nothing left in the tank. Not only will the 14-year veteran turn 37 this season, but he's gone over 1,000 yards just once since 2011 and has been plagued by injuries late in his career. 

Wayne tore his ACL in 2013 and played through shoulder and triceps injuries throughout the 2014 season, which was his last with the Indianapolis Colts. It wasn't a huge surprise when Indy decided to let him walk, instead bringing in the slightly less geriatric Andre Johnson to play the role of top veteran receiver. 

With an abundance of high-quality young receivers coming into the league via the last two drafts, guys like Wayne, 34-year-old Wes Welker, 36-year-old Santana Moss and 31-year-old Santonio Holmes have lost their value. 

Wayne was the only receiver in the NFL to start beyond the age of 35 last year. And it doesn't bode well for his chances this season that only 17 wide receivers in modern NFL history have started beyond their 37th birthday. And amid that group, only Jerry Rice, Charlie Joiner, Tim Brown, Terrell Owens, Irving Fryar and Art Monk were remotely effective. 

Receiver	REC	YDS	Starts
Jerry Rice	410	5,283	92
Charlie Joiner	154	2,165	39
Tim Brown	76	767	19
Terrell Owens	72	983	11
Irving Fryar	67	802	7
Art Monk	52	695	16
Drew Hill	34	384	7
Joey Galloway	32	378	10

But everything about Wayne suits the Patriots organization, and especially head coach Bill Belichick, who NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal points out "has always talked up Wayne's smarts as an opponent."

Here's what Belichick had to say about Wayne when he was still with Indy last November, per Kevin Bowen of Colts.com: 

"

Yeah, he’s still really good at everything. [He’s] obviously a real smart and experienced guy; knows how to set up routes, make all of his routes look the same, does a great job of releasing and then at the top of his routes being able to create separation at just the right time when the quarterback is ready to throw.

He’s been a key guy for them in critical situations and third down-type situations. I’m sure that there’s a lot of confidence that he’s going to be open and he usually is. Excellent hands; made a lot of tough catches. They move him around. He plays a decent amount in the slot, but also out on the perimeter where we saw him for so many years in their former offensive system. But he’s probably a little more in the slot now with [Hakeem] Nicks and [T.Y.] Hilton outside. But they move all those guys around so finding him is a problem.

He’s still a very dangerous receiver, clutch player and a guy who really, when they need a play, they’re not afraid to go to him and he’ll deliver for them.

"

Belichick's mantra is "do your job." Nothing says that like showing up for work with a hard hat on:

And New England loves helping veteran retreads rejuvenate their careers, not out of the goodness of its organizational heart, but because Belichick and Co. seem to have a knack for getting the most out of guys many thought had nothing left: 

• A 31-year-old Rodney Harrison earned his second career All-Pro nod during his first year with New England in 2003.
• A 30-year-old Corey Dillon had 1,635 yards in his eighth NFL season, which was also his first with New England in 2004. That was a career high for Dillon, and it marked only the fourth time in NFL history in which a running back went over 1,600 yards that late in his career. 
• Prior to signing with New England in 2006, 37-year-old Junior Seau had become a shell of his former self as a role player in Miami. But Seau became a solid starter again in '06 and played a key role on that legendary 2007 team that went to the Super Bowl. 
• Randy Moss had the best year of his career as a 30-year-old on the '07 Pats. 
• They got a solid 4.3 yards per carry and four touchdowns in a backup role from a 33-year-old Fred Taylor in 2009. 

That's not to say New England hasn't rolled snake eyes with aging veterans, because established 30-somethings like Joey Galloway and Chad Johnson didn't fare as well during their late-career stints with Belichick. 

But considering that Julian Edelman (out three weeks and counting with a lower leg injury), Brandon LaFell (PUP list with a foot injury), Aaron Dobson (missing time with a hamstring injury) and Brian Tyms (out indefinitely with a foot injury) are all ailing as part of a receiving corps that wasn't deep to begin with, this is probably a flier worth taking. 

Throw in that the sure-handed Wayne can bring another veteran's touch to a locker room that could be susceptible to potential distractions after a tumultuous offseason, and this might even be a no-brainer. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon