Ex-Dallas Cowboys WR Devin Street thrilled to land with New England Patriots: 'It's just more my fit'
FOXBOROUGH — For about 1,000 NFL players, cutdown week is a miserable week.
For a fraction of those players, the disappointment is only temporary.
Former Cowboys receiver Devin Street, a new addition to the New England Patriots practice squad, hopes he falls into that category.
"Maybe (getting cut) is a blessing in disguise, because I'm at a place where I want to be," Street said Tuesday, "and I feel like they have a little want for me, too, just from working me out before."
A 6-foot-3, 200-pound receiver, Street was selected by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played in 31 of 32 games, but recorded only nine catches for 132 yards. Street, who played his college ball at Pitt, overlapping for one year with Patriots running back Dion Lewis, said he "always wanted to come" to the Patriots.
"I wanted to come here before the draft, but it just didn't work out that way," Street said. "It's just more of my fit, I feel like. Just go about your business, hard work, a humble atmosphere even though they have had so much success."
Despite his tall frame, Street occasionally played in the slot in college. He left Pitt as the school's all-time leading receiver with 202 receptions.
"In college, that's where I made a lot of my money — inside," Street said. "I wasn't utilized in that aspect in Dallas, which is fine. Just got to do what you need to do. But I'm looking for the opportunity to be moved all around here."
After two seasons with the Cowboys, Street got the sense this summer that he would not make the 53-man roster.
"Just kind of, the culture down there," Street said. "I knew it was coming."
Although Street is not on the Patriots' 53-man roster, New England seems to be an ideal landing spot. As Bill Belichick has said, there are many ways a team can carry depth. The Pats have only four receivers on the active roster. Street is joined on the practice squad by rookie Devin Lucien.
Bigger than the rest of New England's receivers, Street would bring unique skill set if promoted to the active roster.