Column: Donte Stallworth - still worth it for Patriots?

2/17/10 - Donte Stallworth, who had been suspended for the entire 2009 NFL season after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter charges in Florida last year, was reinstated after Super Bowl XLIV. In the early hours of March 14, 2009 in Miami Beach, Fla. while behind the wheel of his black 2005 Bentley Continental GT, Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian. Mario Reyes, 59, was a crane worker and was just getting off his shift at 7:15 a.m. when the incident occurred. At the time of the accident, Stallworth was going 50 m.p.h. in a 40 m.p.h. zone and his blood alcohol content was 0.12 Florida's legal limit is 0.08.

Stallworth, along with being barred from play, was docked a year's pay ($5 million dollars), sentenced to two years of house arrest, eight years of probation and had a lifetime ban put on his Florida driving license. This of course was on top of his unusual 30-day jail sentence (only serving 24 days total) and 1,000 hours of community service Stallworth completed.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated Donte Stallworth after Super Bowl XLIV and the Cleveland Browns promptly terminated the wide receivers contract the following morning.

The termination of the contract makes Stallworth a free agent and in search of his fifth team since being drafted eighth overall out of the University of Tennessee in 2002.

With Stallworth fresh onto the free agent market, it raises an interesting question. Would Stallworth be a good fit for a New England Patriots team who struggled finishing 10-6 last season?

Stallworth called Foxborough his home during the 2007 season and while there recorded 697 receiving yards made 46 catches and scored three touchdowns.

The Patriots look to have Randy Moss, Wes Welker and up-and-comer Julian Edelman as the primary targets next season for Tom Brady. Adding Donte Stallworth to the receiving core would only boost the offense's output in 2010.

Randy Moss recorded 83 receptions, 1,264 receiving yards and scored 13 touchdowns total for the 2009 season. Wes Welker recorded 123 receptions, 1,348 receiving yards and scored four touchdowns. Julian Edelman recorded 37 receptions, 359 receiving yards and scored one touchdown. Donte Stallworth has averaged 49.3 receptions, 730.5 receiving yards, and 5.3 touchdowns in his eight seasons in the NFL. The addition of Stallworth would be just what the Patriots need and would put them back amongst the league's elite.

Nicknamed "hands" by his college teammates at Tennessee because of his ability to make incredible catches regularly, Stallworth left Knoxville with 1,747 reception yards which ranked ninth on the school's all-time list. Stallworth also ran a 4.29 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. His collegiate stats impressed scouts enough for the New Orleans Saints to select Stallworth eight overall in 2002.

Tom Brady thought Stallworth was worth stopping to talk to at a Boston restaurant on March 5, 2007 about the possibility of coming to New England. If Stallworth was good enough for a quarterback who has won three Super Bowl titles for New England to court him, I don't see why Donte Stallworth wouldn't be a good fit once again with the Patriots.