While running back Ben Tate had little trouble finding a home, no team in the NFL was willing to add LeGarrette Blount to their roster at his sticker price when he was let go by the Steelers. The talented but troubled tailback signed a two-year, $3.85MM deal with the Steelers in March but his time as Le’Veon Bell‘s understudy came to an end after he left the field before the end of Sunday’s game against the Titans. There were several teams with a need for an RB like Blount but it’s safe to say that teams were scared off by his troubled history.
A quick refresher of Blount’s resume, for those that don’t remember. While at Oregon in 2009, Blount punched a Boise State player in a face following a 19-8 loss, putting him on the national map for all the wrong reasons. In 2010, he signed with the Titans as an undrafted free agent, but found himself in a training camp skirmish with a teammate. In August of this year, Blount and Bell were arrested for marijuana possession while in a car together. The early walk-off was apparently the final straw for the Steelers, but the timing of the move leads one to believe that they have been fed up with Blount for some time. Of course, somewhere in the middle of all of that, Blount looked the part of a superstar in Tampa Bay for some time and proved to be a very effective power back for the Patriots during his first New England stint in 2013.
Now, Blount has circled back to the Pats and even though his two-year deal probably doesn’t carry much in the way of guaranteed dollars for 2015, the Pats are probably looking at him as more than a patch-in addition. Blount joins a crowded backfield that features Brandon Bolden, James White, new breakout Jonas Gray, and Shane Vereen with Stevan Ridley on injured reserve. However, with Ridley, Vereen, and Bolden are all set to hit the open market this offseason, there could certainly be room for Blount in New England’s future plans.
The Patriots are obviously familiar with Blount’s problems but the fact that they have a history with him and were willing to sign him anyway says a lot about their experience with him. Do you expect the former Oregon star to remain with the Patriots next season?
You almost have to wonder if the Patriots were in contact with Blount prior to him walking out on the Steelers. Something just doesn’t jive here.