LeGarrette Blount had the opportunity to return to the New England Patriots.
The Patriots tagged the running back to a rarely-used unrestricted free agent tender that would have paid him up to $2.1 million in 2017. Instead, Blount elected to sign a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles that will pay him up to $2.8 million.
It’s easy to guess why Blount chose to sign with Philadelphia over New England. Here the reasoning in his own words, however.
“This is a perfect fit for me,” Blount told the media Thursday in his introductory news conference with the Eagles. “I’ve done everything I wanted to do. I won two Super Bowls with those guys. I don’t regret a single second of being there because I loved it there. They had some of the best years of football that you could ever remember. …
“I chose the Eagles for the reason of me fitting in really good here, (and) the chance of me making the team, having a championship run, having a banner season. And they’re a really good team. They’re a really good team before I came. I just want to fit in.”
Blount likely would have had to compete for a role and possibly a roster spot with the Patriots, who added Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead at running back this season. New England also has James White, Dion Lewis, Brandon Bolden, D.J. Foster and LeShun Daniels at the position.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
