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Reggie Wayne is a New England Patriot: The Reaction

By Dave McKee

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Reggie Wayne is a New England Patriot. I will let that sink in…

Reggie Wayne is a New England Patriot. I know Colts fans it is hard to swallow. I should have completed this articles hours ago, but please forgive me. I simply could not grasp the reality what I was seeing. Reggie Wayne is a New England Patriot. This feels far too bizarre to accept for most Colts fans. Initial social media responses over the one-year deal have ranged from sadness to outrage.

The sad truth is this really happened. Reggie Wayne is a New England Patriot. It just feels wrong no matter how many times I say it, read it, or hear it. I keep repeating it so maybe it won’t seem so weird, but that has not worked so far.

The Five Stages of Grief

When I first caught word of Reggie Wayne’s visit to Foxborough, I laughed, not happily… more hysterically. Why? Because I knew he would sign. Sadly, I predicted this. This was while I was writing the article on Reggie Wayne being honored with the Key to the City back in July. I had told my wife that I had a feeling Reggie Wayne would end up in New England.

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My prediction was based on such a nightmarish scenario. Being a fan of Reggie Wayne, she said what most fans did in the standard five stages of grief format, “No… He wouldn’t do that.” The first phase of grief… Denial. Followed by, “Why would he do that?” of course, this is the second phase…Anger. I understood these feelings as I had already struggled with them before.

Then came the natural progression – which we both followed – into bargaining, “I thought he would’ve just retired or played somewhere else. Why New England?” Depression and acceptance followed in quick succession. Finally, after several hours I came to terms with it and pieced my thoughts together for this article.

It takes time to heal. Eventually, Colts fans, we will all accept it. Personally, I hope he does have a fantastic season and remains healthy throughout 2015. He deserves to leave a lasting legacy. He deserves to go out on a good note. Still, the sight of him in New England’s gear on October 18th will be  hard to take. Then we will begin again, starting with denial, as the cycle continues until completed.

 Take Heed Lest He Fall

For former Colts  players this is the nightmare scenario. Gregg Rosenthal of Around the NFL, warned Colts players from taking this path three years ago. “Note to future ex-Indianapolis Colts: Don’t sign with the Patriots. It’s a trap,” said Rosenthal.

Please understand, this is not braggadocio. I simply said it as a gut instinct mixed with these simple facts. Ex-Colts and the Patriots have already done this three times before. None of Reggie Wayne’s three predecessors found success there. New England signed both WR – Anthony Gonzalez (cut) and RB – Joseph Addai (quit) in 2012. A year later, they signed WR – Austin Collie (concussions) in 2013. Technically, they were a year overdue since they had not signed any former Colts in 2014. Like Reggie Wayne, all three had been returning from injury-riddled seasons before signing with New England. Are these actually portents of doom as Rosenthal warned? Is this, in the famous words of Admiral Ackbar, “a trap!?”

The Twilight Zone

Nov 16, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) and Indianapolis Colts receiver Reggie Wayne (87) embrace after their game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

The entire NFL world has likely heard the news and yet, it is still very hard to believe. It just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

For Colts fans, including myself it feels like an episode straight out of Rod Serling’s ‘The Twilight Zone.’ Allow me to demonstrate…

[Queue Rod Serling] Meet, 14-year veteran wide receiver and future Hall of Famer, named Reggie Wayne. His tenure ends with the only team he has played for professionally, the Indianapolis Colts.

Reggie Wayne is a bona-fide competitor. As a competitor, there is no way that Reggie Wayne will allow himself  to “ride off into the sunset” after two seasons marred with injuries.

He wanted one more year in Indy, but it was the Colts who decided it was better to walk away. Reggie Wayne did not want to retire and has enough pride to keep playing for one more year. A farewell tour, if you will.

The Colts 2014 season ended with a 41-7 rout by the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. Since that January game, both teams have been at odds because of Deflategate and the four-game suspension of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The blood between these teams is bad.

[Cut to close-up of a phone] Suddenly, after a long wait, the free agent’s phone rings… It’s New England Coach Bill Belichick and he wants to make a deal. A deal that was offered to three ex-Colts before. A deal that caused all three players disappear never to be heard from again.

Despite all the things wrong with the picture, and all the warnings, Reggie Wayne finds the offer too tempting and signs on the dotted line. Bill Belichick has added another dynamic to the perfect storm that is the soon to be media frenzy of week 6. Cut to Coach Belichick wringing his hands with maniacal cackle watching as the ink dries [Fade to black]… Reggie Wayne is a New England Patriot.

[Queue Rod Serling] “There is a dimension between time and space… ”

Need I say more? oh wait… There is one more thing.

I’d like to give a special thanks to Bulleye Event Group for the great image and use of it!

Next: Hole-y O-Line!

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