WR Deion Branch Returns To New England

Added on Oct 12, 2010 by Jason Kearney in

NFL

The New England Patriots have been reunited with wide receiver Deion Branch immediately on the heels of their trade to send Randy Moss to Minnesota. Branch was acquired from the Seattle Seahawks for a draft pick and has already arrived in the Boston area and is practicing with the team. Branch didn’t say anything to blow up his former team but sure sounded like he couldn’t be happier to be back in New England:

“First of all, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank God for the opportunity to come back and be a part of a great organization, and also be a part of another great organization in Seattle. Unfortunately things didn’t work, but that’s part of the business.”

God issued a statement in response clarifying Branch’s remarks and re-affirming that all Patriots’ personnel decisions continue to be made by President Jonathan Kraft and coach Belichick.

Branch was traded to Seattle four years ago after failing to work out a new deal with the Pats, but he says there’s no ill will over how he left:

“No regrets. I wish it never happened, but no regrets,. When I left, there wasn’t any issue between me and coach Belichick. None at all. We talked during the course of the year, not a lot, but I spoke to him and I truly thanked him. We didn’t leave on a bad note and I think that’s why it was so easy to return, because we both understood what was going on.”

Ironically, Branch has agreed to re-work his contract which was a key component in the Pats making the deal:

“There are a couple things that are probably going to be talked about. There will be dealings between my agent and the organization, but I’m willing to make things work.”

Branch also said that despite the appearance and timing of his return he’s not there to replace Randy Moss:

“I’m not here to replace Randy. I’m not Randy Moss. I wasn’t Randy Moss when I was here. I’m not here to replace him. My job is to go out and do what the offense asks me to do, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Tom Brady says that Branch has some work to do to get up to speed with the team’s offense, but was overall very enthused about him rejoining the team:

“Deion is a very smart player. He’s going to have his work cut out for him. There’s a lot to catch up on. I wouldn’t say things are exactly the way they were when he left. We’ve evolved quite a bit from that offense that we were running. Some of the things I’m sure are very familiar to him, but some of the things are very different as well. I’m sure there will be a pretty steep learning curve for him. Hopefully he gets up to speed as quickly as possible because we’ll need him this week.”

“He’s very much the same type of player that you’ve seen here over the years. The [Tedy] Bruschis, the [Mike] Vrabels, the [Willie] McGinests, the Ty Laws, those character guys that a guy like Deion is. Whenever those guys become available I’m sure that’s the kind of player coach Belichick jumps at.”

Branch is expected to be in the lineup this weekend, though he deferred to Coach Belichick’s decision when asked if he’d play on Sunday against Baltimore.