WR Adam Humphries Describes Patriots' 'Really Strong Offer' Which Left His 'Mind Spinning'
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots' additions at wide receiver thus far into the offseason have been ... underwhelming. But that's not due to a lack of effort.
As has been reported, the Patriots made a late push to sign wide receiver Adam Humphries, after the free agent had a handshake agreement in place with the Tennessee Titans. Humphries said at his introductory press conference in Nashville that he stuck with the Titans because he's a man of his word, and more recently, he got into some more depth about the Patriots' offer with NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
"I had kind of made my mind up on Tennessee. The number was good. That was exciting," Humphries said on the Rapsheet + Friends podcast. "And then the defending world champs come calling and come with a really strong offer. That kind of had my mind spinning. I knew obviously they are great at [utilizing] my skill set and guys similar to the way I play, they've done a great job with that."
Rapoport, likely sensing that Humphries was dancing around the words "white receiver," interjected to say, "I've noticed that."
"Yeah, I think everyone has noticed that," Humphries laughed. "That was one of the things, you know, I felt like everyone expected me to go [to New England], and I kind of wanted to create my own way and help the Tennessee Titans become a really powerful team. I was sticking to my guns, my initial decision, and I'm happy I did that. Like I said the whole time, it was stressful, it was tough, a lot of great offers on the table. It's hard to come down and make that final decision. Either way it would have been awesome, and I'm just excited to play at the highest level."
Humphries listed factors like the coaching staff, the opportunity, the lack of state taxes, and the appeal of the city of Nashville as factors that contributed to his decision to sign with the Titans.
In four NFL seasons with the Buccaneers, the 26-year-old Humphries has caught 219 passes for 2,329 yards and nine touchdowns in 60 games played. Last year, he caught 76 passes for 816 yards and five touchdowns -- all career highs.