Patriots Sign Olympic Sprinter Jeff Demps to Contract

Former Florida Gator running back and Olympic silver medalist Jeff Demps has agreed to a contract with the Patriots. (John Raoux)

During the Bill Belichick era, the New England Patriots have had some game-changing kickoff and punt returners. Whether it was Bethel Johnson, Ellis Hobbs, or Brandon Tate, the Patriots always seemed to have someone who could come up with the big play when the team needed it. That changed midway through the 2010 season when Tate's game began to go downhill. Ever since then, the Patriots have struggled to find a dynamic returner. Their current one entering this summer's training camp was Danny Woodhead. Woodhead is no doubt a quality running back, but is better suited to be the team's third-down back.

At least one person in the Patriots organization must have been watching the Olympics. In the much anticipated men's 4x100 relay, the Americans tied the prior Olympic record, but had to settle for silver after finishing behind the speedy Jamaicans. One of those American sprinters was Jeff Demps. Unlike many Olympic track athletes, Demps has had experience playing football. He was a running back and returner for the Florida Gators. Demps went undrafted in the NFL Draft primarily because he told teams that he wanted to focus on running track.

Now that the Olympics are over and Demps has his silver medal, many NFL teams became interested in acquiring his speed and talent. Demps decided he wanted to sign with the Patriots. The fit appears to be excellent for both sides. Demps should get an opportunity to play right away. The Patriots will first and foremost look to capitalize on his lightning speed in the return game. Demps might even pick up some additional carries out of the backfield with an apparent injury slowing down tailback Stevan Ridley. I wouldn't even rule out the possibility of getting him into the wildcat formation. This signing is a prototypical move by Belichick. Those moves tend to work out quite well. It will be interesting to see if that happens with Jeff Demps as well.