New England Patriots tried signing Steve Smith but called too late

The New England Patriots tried signing Steve Smith Sr this offseason, but were just a little too late to the party.

Steve Smith Sr didn’t know if he’d be in the postseason this year, but he knew for sure that wherever he was it wouldn’t be in Carolina. The Panthers released their longest tenured player this past offseason, and they did so in controversial fashion.

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As we enter the Divisional round of the postseason, a Super Bowl reunion between Steve Smith and the Panthers is still a possibility, but he’ll have to get through a team that nearly signed him in the offseason. The New England Patriots needed wide receivers this past spring, and Steve Smith was one of the players they called with interest.

The only problem was, Bill Belichick was a little too late to the party.

“Yeah, I talked to [Belichick] and it was a great opportunity as well,” Smith said, via Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. “Anytime you have an opportunity to go to some teams, it’s always good. When your phone stops ringing, you need to start thinking about if I’m in the right profession.”

The Patriots being in on Steve Smith is no secret, as there were rumors as soon as he was cut that he could head up to New England to seek his revenge on the Panthers. What we didn’t know what just how quickly things came together with the Ravens, as even though Bill Belichick got his call in early to Smith, it was still too late.

New England eventually ended up with a former Panthers receiver in Brandon LaFell, who has worked out quite well for the team. But Smith is a different animal altogether, as he’s on a vendetta to win regardless of who it’s with and so far he’s been doing just fine with Baltimore on a journey that could extend well into the postseason.

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