Danny Amendola catching passes from Ryan Tannehill

Former New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola signed a free agent contract with the Miami Dolphins this offseason. The Dolphins are looking to find a way to replace some of the production they lost from the wide receiver position when they traded Jarvis Landry to the Cleveland Browns. Amendola, who spent the last five years with the Patriots and four years with the (then) St. Louis Rams prior to that, brings veteran experience to the slot position as part of addressing the loss of Landry.

Amendola spoke with ESPN this week to discuss his departure from the Patriots, particularly stressing that while he recognizes he had to “give money back” to New England head coach Bill Belichick in order to “play for him and play for my teammates,” Amendola felt Belichick would “give me an opportunity to stay.” When free agency began, however, Amendola told ESPN, “I came to the realization that he wasn’t going to really come close to any of the other offers I had.”

He chose to leave the Patriots and join the Dolphins, signing a 2-year, $12-million contract. He also is already getting to work with the Dolphins’ quarterbacks. According to Amendola, he has been working away from the team’s training facilities, catching passes from Ryan Tannehill and free agent addition Brock Osweiler. The report also says “many of the team’s skill-position players” have been present at these workouts.

While it is not a surprise that offseason workouts away from the facilities are happening, it is good to see the new members of the team are getting tied in with the incumbents. It is also a good sign that Tannehill is taking part in these off-site sessions. Tannehill is returning after knee injury issues have kept him out of football since December 2016. He ultimately had to have surgery to repair his ACL. The Dolphins are expecting Tannehill to be a full participant in their offseason training program that begins next week, and Amendola’s indications of Tannehill throwing passes seems to support the team’s assertions.