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| WR Donte' Stallworth returns to the Patriots more than three months after being released by them. (US Presswire) |
Donte' Stallworth didn’t know he’d witness the moment that got him back in the NFL when he decided to skip watching the games on TV and instead went to Sun Life Stadium to see the Patriots play his hometown Dolphins on Sunday.
In the fourth quarter, he saw Pats WR Julian Edelman suffer a broken foot, which landed him on injured reserve Tuesday, ending his season. Stallworth went home hoping the injury wasn't serious.
That proved not to be the case and his phone rang the next night. The Patriots wanted to bring him back to the team that released him 98 days earlier.
“I understand the business of this game," Stallworth said. "When I was released earlier it was obviously a disappointment. It’s just like after a game. You lose a game, you’re upset about it that night, and you come back and prepare. Obviously, it took more than a night.”
Stallworth, who hasn’t played in a game since last season, said that he worked out for several teams during his layoff and stayed in shape by working out with former Florida International QB Wes Carroll and others, such as Pittsburgh WR Plaxico Burress in Miami.
So the physical side of his comeback shouldn’t be too daunting, although Stallworth will have some catching up to do despite being familiar with the playbook.
“Being out as long as I have, it’s not like a video game where you can throw them in and they automatically know what’s going on,” he said. “It’s like being in school, and I’ll be studying hard.”
And right now, studying beats the alternative.
“It’s better than sitting home and watching ’Dexter’ and ’Boardwalk Empire’ all day," he said.
Nick Underhill covers the Patriots for MassLive.com. Follow him on Twitter@CBSPats or @Nick_Underhill.
