Patriots Reportedly Take One-Year Flier On Former Jaguars Receiver Marqise Lee

In the hours leading up to the 2020 NFL draft, the New England Patriots turned the clock back to a former unanimous All-American and Biletnikoff Award winner.

Wide receiver Marqise Lee agreed to terms with New England on a one-year deal Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported.

Lee, 28, entered the league as a Jacksonville Jaguars second-round selection in 2014. The USC product appeared in 53 games through his initial four NFL regular seasons while catching 171 passes for 2,166 yards and eight touchdowns.

After reaching a four-year, $38 million contract extension with $16.5 million guaranteed in March 2018, Lee suffered a torn ACL, MCL and PCL during the preseason and was placed on injured reserve.

His return to the field in 2019 was cut short due to a shoulder injury after six games and three receptions for 18 yards.

Jacksonville released Lee on Monday in a move that created close to $5 million in cap room while leaving $3.5 million in dead money, according to OverTheCap.com.

Lee’s most productive campaign with the Jaguars arrived in 2016 and brought 63 receptions for 851 yards and a trio of scores. It marked the only campaign in which he appeared in every game for the organization.

The 6-foot, 196-pound Lee will contend for a place on a depth chart carrying Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers, Damiere Byrd, Gunner Olszewski, Quincy Adeboyejo, Devin Ross and captain Matthew Slater.

Byrd, most recently a member of the Arizona Cardinals, stood as the lone outside addition to the position in free agency. He garnered a base salary of $1 million, $600,000 in guarantees and up to $900,000 in incentives last month.

But additional names could soon arrive as the New England war room enters the draft with 12 selections.

Lee, originally picked No. 39 overall by Jacksonville, was the sixth wideout off the board in his draft class after Clemson’s Sammy Watkins, Texas A&M’s Mike Evans, LSU’s Odell Beckham Jr., Oregon State’s Brandin Cooks and Florida State’s Kelvin Benjamin.

He entered having clocked the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds and the short shuttle in 4.01 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine, where a 38-inch vertical and 10-foot-7 broad jump were also registered.

Lee has made 30 career starts since then.

“He’s had some very explosive plays in college, and he’s a hard guy to tackle and get on the ground,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said ahead of a September 2015 meeting with Jacksonville. “… I really like Lee. I think he’s got a dynamic skillset and he’s got a great personality – loves football, loves to practice, loves to play. He’s a good football player.”

New England crossed paths again in the 2017 AFC Championship Game. Lee caught four passes for 41 yards in the 24-20 result at Gillette Stadium.