Danny Amendola had better offers than the Rams

Danny Amendola eventually landed with the New England Patriots. That wasn't the only team interested in his services. The Rams were also interested in re-signing him, but not as much as other teams were.

Amendola revealed a little about his free agent courtship process in an interview with 101 ESPN on Friday, (via Sports Radio interviews):

"I had three or four head-and-shoulders opportunities that were far outweighing what the Rams had offered, but I understand that it's a business. I understand that they have numbers, they value me as they will. And it turned out that other teams valued me a little higher and so that's the way it goes."

Amendola signed a five-year, $28.5 million deal with the Patriots. The Rams' offer to him is unknown, but it was batted around the rumor mill that the team was unwilling to pay an average of $6 million per year. His deal with Patriots comes in just under that, but yearly salaries don't matter all that much in the world of NFL contracts.

The real question is whether or not any other team offered him more than the Patriots? The Eagles and 49ers were also said to have been interested in Amendola.

He wanted to stay with the Rams.

"It was my understanding and number one plan to stay a St. Louis Ram. Then when free agency hit it kinda turned into more of a business deal. ... There's a lot of different opportunities, a lot of unique situations on each team and each position, whether I'd be playing special teams or I'd be playing receiver, slot receiver, outside receiver. You gotta take all those in consideration. St. Louis and I, we had a lot of talks. There was a lot of stuff leading up to that final free agency, but at the end of the day it just seemed to have a better opportunity elsewhere for both parties. And that's what I guess we both kind of decided on."

The Rams will be looking for more receiver help in the draft this year to shore up the holes left by the departure of Amendola and Brandon Gibson, who also landed in the AFC East on a deal with the Dolphins. Brian Quick and Chris Givens figure heavily into the plans this year and beyond, and hopefully both can reach the next level in their sophomore seasons. Jared Cook, who signed a whopper of a deal as a free agent, also factors into the offensive game plan

Among the potential draft picks linked to the Rams so far, Quinton Patton and Tavon Austin would seem to be candidates to replace some of what Amendola did working out of the slot or taking on those short and intermediate routes. Both of those players pack considerably more upside than Amendola, not to mention could be had for pennies compared to the cost of re-signing Amendola.