Patriots Eager To See What Michael Floyd Can Bring To Team
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots added a little more depth to their receiving corps on Thursday, claiming wideout Michael Floyd to potentially provide Tom Brady with another weapon down the stretch.
Floyd was at Gillette Stadium on Friday morning getting to know his new team, though it's highly unlikely he'll be ready for Sunday's tilt against the Broncos in Denver. He now has the tough task of learning a complicated Patriots playbook, something past pickups at that position have struggled to do.
But the newcomer should receive plenty of help from New England's veteran players and coaches over the next three weeks as he gets acclimated to a new system. Rookie receiver Malcolm Mitchell appears to have a solid grasp on the playbook, hauling in four touchdowns in his last four games, but isn't sure what he can offer Floyd -- other than a friendly welcome and some encouragement.
"I'm a new guy myself so I don't think there is much I can do. There are a lot of veteran receivers and coaches who can point him in the right direction and give him as much help as he needs. I guess I can be someone who smiles, a friendly smile in the morning," said Mitchell. "But I'm pretty sure that's all I can do for him."
The rookie sounds confident that Floyd, a five-year veteran with 242 receptions and 24 touchdowns under his belt, will pick things up quickly.
"It's a challenge he'll have to face, but I'm sure he can do it. He's a great player," said Mitchell. "I've seen him make several plays. He's a phenomenal football player."
Corner Logan Ryan is much more familiar with what Floyd can bring to the table. Ryan trained with the receiver in the offseason, and then had to share coverage duties on Floyd in New England's Week 1 matchup with the Cardinals. Floyd caught three passes on seven targets that evening, including one over Ryan.
Ryan offered a bit of a scouting report on Floyd on Friday morning.
"He's a big guy. Big bodied receiver, but he's not just a big guy playing receiver, he's definitely got a lot of receiver traits," Ryan said of the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Floyd. "He has natural hands. He's really good at tracking the deep ball. He's got good feet for a guy his size. I think the size of him is a little bigger than people expect and how well he moves for that size and how well he gets in and out of breaks and stuff like that. It's pretty impressive. You can tell why he's had so much success in this league and in college.
"This is a tough place to transition to. I know a lot of guys aren't used to how we do things here, but he's a good football player and he's a good guy in that sense," added Ryan. "I train with this guy the months of the year we're not in season, when a lot of people might be relaxing. We're in there, in Arizona, trying to get the best out of each other and going hard every day. I know he's willing to do that. Willing to put that into it and I think that goes a long way."
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick says the team is aware of Floyd's DUI arrest earlier this week, and will let the legal situation play itself out. As for what Floyd can bring to the team, Belichick said the team will wait and see.
"This isn't the first time a player has come to a team during the season; we're not talking about a historical event here," the coach quipped. "Whether it was [defensive tackle] Alan Branch [in 2014], [linebacker] Kyle Van Noy this year, Jonathan Casillas [in 2014], or Griff Whalen a week ago -- it's the same thing we've talked about with every one of those guys. We'll see how it goes."
The head coach confirmed that Floyd will travel with the team to Denver, but wouldn't say if the receiver will play against the Broncos.
"Again, we'll do what we feel like is best for the game. He'll travel, so we'll see," said Belichick.
