Name: Damiere Byrd
Position: Wide receiver
Age: 27
College: South Carolina
Experience: 4 years (three with Carolina, one with Arizona)
Best season: 2019 - 32 receptions for 359 yards and one touchdown with Cardinals
Salary: One-year deal where he can earn up to $2.5 million
Fun fact: Byrd also ran track at South Carolina and was very successful. He holds the fourth-fastest 55-meter dash in school history at 6.24 seconds. He also has the sixth-fastest 60-meter dash in the school’s history at 6.66 seconds.
Career summary: The veteran has been injured a few times over the course of his career, which has certainly held him back. In 2017, he suffered a broken arm and missed roughly three months. Then after a few games back he suffered a lower leg injury that knocked him out for the rest of the season. The following year he broke his arm again in Week 12 and missed the rest of the season. Byrd’s biggest impact in Carolina came returning kicks and punts, and then last year he was a depth piece at the receiver position for quarterback Kyler Murray.
Potential fit with Patriots: It’s hard to pencil Byrd in for a definitive role with the team in 2020, but he will be given every opportunity to earn a spot as the No. 4 to 5 receiver. His ability to return kicks and punts is certainly an added benefit. Standing 5-foot-9, he seems to be similar to Gunner Olszewski in a way. Byrd is like a lot of other veterans the team has signed in the last several offseasons where there is a lot of unknowns, but there's hope things will work out.
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