Reggie Wayne retired after 14 seasons four years ago, and while he only played regular-season games with the Colts, the decorated wideout was a Patriot briefly. However, the Lions showed interest in adding him in that 2015 offseason as well. Wayne was not interested, citing the Lions’ insistence he work out for them as a reason he sidestepped them en route to New England.
“I said, ‘Work out? You the Detroit Lions. Wait. Work out? I’m good,'” Wayne said during an appearance on NFL Network anchor Dan Hellie’s Helliepod podcast (via the Detroit Free Press). “Like, I can give you — I got 14 years of working out that you can see,” Wayne said. “So I was like, ‘Nah, I’m cool.’”
Then coached by former Colts HC Jim Caldwell, the Lions employed Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate as their starters at that point. Wayne did end up working out for the Patriots but cited Bill Belichick‘s success as a reason he agreed to audition for the Pats. Wayne’s Patriots tenure ended up lasting barely 10 days, with the then-36-year-old wideout asking to be released before the start of the 2015 season. Wayne added during the interview the Pats let him keep a $450K signing bonus he received.
Shifting to current matters, is the latest from around the league:
- Veteran NFL assistant and two-time interim HC Perry Fewell accepted a job with the NFL this week. The league named Fewell its senior vice president of officiating administration. The former Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator will oversee the officiating department, which will include working with outreach to GMs and head coaches. This will be the 57-year-old Fewell’s first year away from coaching since he began in the profession in the mid-1980s. Fewell has been an NFL assistant since 1998.
- When the NFL revamped its Rooney Rule, it also added a provision that will feature all 32 teams housing a coaching fellowship program for minority candidates. These will be full-time positions that will last from one to two years.
- The NFL made another new hire recently, tapping Jeff Miller as its new executive VP of communications, public affairs and policy, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
- NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith is somewhat less bullish on the 2020 season unfolding than the NFL currently is.
‘Wayne added during the interview the Pats let him keep a $450K signing bonus he received.’
Kind of a classy move, no?
Um signing bonuses are guaranteed. So yeah, classy honoring a contract.
Yeah, but then he never played for them…..the Patriots could have sought to recoup some of that signing bonus
wayne, much like Brady has a giant ego
Oh, get over your ex already.
I’m 12
Then your parents are bad parents letting you get on the internet like this.
How are they baf parents for this? Get off your high horse bud
I’m sure his kids are incarcerated.
I mean, he can chirp the Lions all he wants the fact is he retired because the Patriots playbook was too hard for him ♂️
He played with Peyton Manning. There’s no chance the playbook was too hard for him. Gronk is dumb as toast and he handled it.
He said it was.
Gronk is no idiot, unlike what you see when you look into a mirror.
Man….the AUDACITY of those lions…..making a guy TRY OUT before signing him. Especially an older guy, who might be injured or lost a step.
How DARE you Detroit!
Exactly! What’s next… make him take a physical? The nerve of those guys!
Fewell has no experience but he gets the job because Stevie Wonder wasn’t interested.
If he was so opposed to the Lions, then why visit them in the 1st place? He was looking for work and couldn’t find any which is the reason he retired.
If he couldn’t find work, how did he get signed by the Patriots?
He lasted 10 days in NE.
And he left them, not the other way around
Make the other teams think you’re wanted, maybe creates some semblance of perceived value, and maybe you get paid, and maybe you even get paid and get to play for someone you actually want to play for.