The Patriots showed Welker a Fahuck you offer and he left. They signed Danny Amendola and now the Patriots people are saying they signed Amendola before they dropped Welker. Who knows. Everybody assumes Amendola will replace Welker because shallowly they are both white wide receivers. Then the Pats drop Brandon Lloyd.
What if the Patriots sign Victor Cruz now and move HIM into the slot? They'd give up a late 1st round pick but it would be a late 1st round pick and no 1st round receiver would match Cruz's production. Then Amendola can play the outside.
You might say that Amendola is too small to play on the outside but not really. He's 5'11 and Lloyd is 6'. Lloyd only has 10 pounds on him. Cruz is a much better slot WR than Amendola. The Patriots could do things unusual things like put TE's on the outside to run vs CBs and put Cruz and Welker on the inside to run against LBs.
Eli Manning always inflates the value of his tight ends and receivers. If Cruz left he should only go to a team quarterbacked by Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees. He's be best off staying as a Giant or getting picked up by the Pats.