Yesterday, the Patriots made waves by claiming former Cardinals WR Michael Floyd on waivers. The Patriots were the only team that submitted a waiver claim. The cost for picking him up on waivers is $1.2M, but the reward is the Patriots pick up an inconsistent, but talented WR with a sky-high ceiling and see how he handles himself in their system. The Patriots had just under $8M in cap space at the time, so they figured why not.
Floyd does have previous experience in a similar offense under former Patriots OC Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, Weis saying that 75% of the terminology in his offense and the Patriots offense is similar. Weis recruited Floyd to play for Notre Dame, where he spent two years in that offense. As a sophomore, Floyd posted 44 catches for 795 yards and 9 TD. The Patriots would not have picked up Floyd without Weis vouching for him. The Patriots decided that the $1.2M cost was worth the potential reward because he’s now a Patriot and was seen practicing with the team today. Floyd will travel to Denver with the team.
Today Mike Lombardi went on Colin Cowherd’s show and the topic of Floyd came up. Here was Lombardi’s response:
"I think it's worth the risk for [the Patriots]." — Michael Lombardi (@mlombardifoxtv) on Patriots claiming Michael Floyd pic.twitter.com/eJjlpOq0hx
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 16, 2016
The Patriots will now be able to see up close how Michael Floyd behaves, how he practices, and how he prepares for games. The team sees it as a possibility to put Floyd in a strong locker room where positive peer pressure impacts the way he handles himself on a daily basis. Off the field conduct is why Floyd is in Foxboro in the first place coupled with a subpar season. For Floyd, getting released from the team that drafted him had to be a wake-up call that he isn’t guaranteed anything in the league.
Floyd is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2016 season and is probably looking at a 1-year, prove-it type deal to rebuild his value for 2018. The move works for Floyd because he gets to see how business is handled in a top-notch organization. That could plant the seed for the Patriots to re-sign Floyd to that 1-year deal and have him play with the best QB in the league, even though expectations will be high and the team demanding a lot out of him. If he walks, Floyd would wind up as a lost free agent in the Patriots 2018 compensatory pick calculations.