New England Pats release former Ohio star receiver

After a frustrating two years in which he seldom hit the playing field, former Ohio University star wide-receiver Taylor Price has been released by the New England Patriots. But two days after being released by New England, Price got signed by the receiver-depleted Jacksonville Jaguars.

While the lack of playing time for second-year player had been blamed on a nagging hamstring injury, various news stories and blogs about Price's release hardly mentioned his injury issues. Rather, they said the third-round 2010 draft pick had difficulty "meshing" with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady or the offense in general, and/or wasn't practicing properly.

Here's a hodge-podge of the coverage in the hours after Price's release on Saturday.

• Boston Herald sports writer Ian Rappaport reported that Price, who caught just three balls during this year's regular season (for 41 yards), "never made an impact this year. Price battled to earn QB Tom Brady's trust, and even with his talent, it never quite happened. He didn't quite do everything necessary to get ready to play, and being a professional is something some players have to learn."

Rappaport said Price will now head to the waiver wire, "having earned $1,368,717 with the Pats."

• In an analysis for ESPN Boston, Mike Reiss wrote that while Price "flashed athleticism and potential in the preseason, he never broke through in the regular season. He played in just four games over two seasons."

Reiss said the situation for Price took on an "ominous" tone last week when he didn't get into the game against Philadelphia, since there seemed to be an opportunity with veteran receiver Chad Ochocinco out with an injury. "That was the first sign that things were headed in the wrong direction," Reiss continued, pointing out that just a few weeks earlier Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien had said, "We need to get (Price) in there more. He's been doing a good job in practice."

In concluding his analysis, Reiss wrote, "In the end, I think Price arrived as a great athlete that the Patriots hoped would become a great receiver. That transformation never happened, with Tom Brady and Price never able to develop the necessary on-field rapport. I think the complex Patriots' offense was part of the equation in Price never emerging."

• And then in an analysis Saturday on Sportsradio WEEI in Boston, sports blogger Christopher Price included a line about Taylor Price "never seeming to mesh with the offense."

While Christopher Price at least acknowledged that Taylor Price "was frequently dogged by a hamstring problem" (unlike some of the other articles or blogs that never mentioned the injury), he pegged the wide receiver's main problem as not having a good rapport with QB Brady.

"For what it's worth," the sports blogger wrote, "(Taylor) Price never appeared to have the confidence or trust of the quarterback."

The "final straw," Christopher Price added, occurred last month when he asked Brady about Taylor Price's progress. "The quarterback answered with a lukewarm endorsement of the Ohio product, saying Price was 'like any young player and veteran player… It's about gaining the trust of your teammates and coaches so that you're able to go out there and do it with confidence in the game,' added Brady."

So, can the former Bobcat receiving star hope to sign on with somebody else in need of a credible downfield threat? Perhaps the Browns, whose unimpressive receiving corps has gotten a good share of the blame for the team's poor season?

With his release less than a day old, Price's situation remains uncertain. But some interest is starting to ripple across the Internet.

A blogger who writes about the Minnesota Vikings posted a piece Saturday afternoon, headlined "Could theVikings Be Interested in Former Patriots' WR Taylor Price?"

Expect to see more pieces of this nature until someone does – or doesn't – sign Price.