As If Lions Fans Haven’t Suffered Enough, Reggie Wayne Kicked ‘Em In The Nuts One More Time
Former first round pick Reggie Wayne hasn’t played in an NFL game since 2014. But in late May 2020, Reggie proved he could still send shockwaves throughout the entire… state of Michigan???
You may not realize this, but Reggie, who caught 1,070 passes as a Colt from 2001-2014, went on to have a two-week stint with the reigning 2015 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, and the Patriots weren’t the only team interested in Reggie’s talents that offseason.
Here we are, five years after his literal sip of coffee with the Patriots, and Reggie revealed that he also had offers from the Detroit Lions. Lions head coach Jim Caldwell was Reggie’s head coach with the Colts from 2009-2011. Caldwell should’ve been FULLY AWARE of what Reggie was capable of on the field. He posted 3,579 yards during Caldwell’s three years in Indy. Oh, and not to mention Reggie’s resume also includes: Super Bowl Champion, 6x Pro Bowler, and the NFL Receiving Leader in 2007. But despite all of that, the Lions still wanted Reggie to work out before they signed him.
“I said, ‘Work out? You the Detroit Lions. Wait. Work out? I’m good,'” Wayne said on NFL Network host Dan Hellie’s Hellipod podcast (via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press). “Like, I can give you — I got 14 years of working out that you can see. So I was like, ‘Nah, I’m cool.'”
Maybe this would explain why Caldwell was canned after four years. Even while being Detroit’s winningest head coach in the Super Bowl era.
As if Lions fans needed any more heartbreak, especially in the middle of a quarantine, they are dished the ultimate insult by someone who didn’t even play A SNAP for them. And to add insult to injury, Reggie AGREED to workout for the Patriots before they signed him. The article even quoted Reggie as “gladly” accepting the workout. A straight kick in the nuts to the entire Lions organization.
But MAYBE (just maybe), this could have been a blessing in disguise for the 7-9 underperforming Lions in 2015, because Reggie went on to sign a 1-year, $3 million contract with the Patriots. Except the 1-year actually meant two weeks, because Reggie was released.
In a move that you wouldn’t expect, Belichick cut Reggie and even let him KEEP his $450,000 signing bonus.
That was the “best job ever,” according to Wayne.
Not only is that the most obvious quote that I’ve ever seen, it’s probably the last thing I would expect to read in 2020. Maybe this proves that Belichick really is a good guy? Maybe Belichick thought the pre-signing workout that Reggie did for the team was worthy of a $450,000 payday? Or maybe this is just what a man who names his boat “VII Rings” does.
