Report: Dante Pettis Targeted by Patriots Prior to Being Claimed by Giants

If Dante Pettis hadn't ended up with the New York Giants, the third-year wide receiver reportedly would have been a member of the New England Patriots.  

Per ESPN's Field Yates, the Giants, Patriots and Cleveland Browns put in a claim on Pettis after he was waived by the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday. 

The Giants wound up with Pettis by virtue of having the worst record (1-6) of the three teams. The Patriots are 2-5 and the Browns are 5-3 heading into Week 9. 

Pettis had a disappointing tenure with the 49ers after being drafted by the team in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft. He did show promise as a rookie with 467 yards and five touchdowns on 27 receptions. His 17.5 yards per catch would have ranked fourth among all wideouts if he played enough snaps to qualify. 

Things quickly turned south for Pettis in San Francisco. The 25-year-old was inactive for the last five games of the 2019 regular season with a knee injury. He was a inactive for the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, despite being healthy. 

Coming into this season, Pettis told reporters that not playing in the Super Bowl was motivating him. 

"If that doesn't change the way someone approaches the offseason, they don't really want to be in the NFL," he said. "There's not too many things worse than that football wise that could get you going, being inactive for the Super Bowl. That was kind of the final straw."

Pettis only appeared in five games this season prior to being waived by San Francisco. 

The Patriots need any spark in the passing game they can find. Cam Newton is averaging 147.8 passing yards with one touchdown and six interceptions over his past four games. Julian Edelman leads the team with 315 receiving yards, but hasn't caught a touchdown and is currently on injured reserve after having knee surgery.

Ultimately, though, the Giants are going to try to rehab Pettis. He's still young and had enough talent to be a second-round draft pick not that long ago. For a team that's clearly building for the future, there's no risk in taking this chance.