Replacing Dion Lewis might not have been hard, but the New England Patriots are going to find they do not have the same luxury when it comes to Julian Edelman. The Patriots have officially lost their leading receiver for the foreseeable future to a broken foot. With the Boston Herald reporting Edelman is out until the playoffs, how exactly will the Patriots fill the void of their top receiver with depth becoming an issue?
According to Tom Brady, no one can fill the shoes of Edelman. The Patriots have quality depth, but is it enough? According to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, the main threats will be Brandon LaFell and Danny Amendola. Both receivers have been improving this season, but were not putting up numbers close to what Edelman had. Aaron Dobson will also get a lot of playing time along with Keshawn Martin who has been out with a hamstring injury since mid-October. Brady sounds confident in what the Patriots have moving forward.
"I have a lot of confidence in Brandon LaFell. Danny [Amendola's] role is different than what Julian's was for us. I think they are a little different type of players," Brady said, via the Dennis and Callahan Show. "Certainly, Julian has been incredible for us. Incredible. And Danny has had a great year this year and really continued from what he finished last season. It's kind of like when you lose a great player like Dion Lewis, there are different ways you are going to have to produce. We'll need to find different ways to produce with the guys that are on the field. It's just unfortunate to lose such a critical player. But you just have to figure out different ways to get it done. Every team deals with injuries."
The Patriots are putting a lot of responsibility on Amendola, a player that has not been as consistent as the Patriots were hoping he would be. The receiver has played on 59 percent of the team's offensive snaps this year and will now be taking over a role of a receiver that has been targeted 83 times so far this season. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told the Providence Journal that no one can come in and simply replace Edelman, but he had confidence that Amendola could handle the extra burden.
So far the Patriots have lost two of their most dynamic playmakers this season in Lewis and Edelman. Replacing Lewis did not go well in Week 10 against the New York Giants. LeGarrette Blount got 19 carries, but only managed 66 yards. James White and Brandon Bolden combined for just two carries. Lewis was the dynamic back that played a big role in the passing game as well. Not having him or Edelman is going to challenge Brady, but the Patriots are confident if there is a quarterback that can handle it, it is him.
