He is small even for a slot receiver in this league. After winning a Super Bowl MVP in February of 2005, Branch followed that up with the best individual season of his career, catching nearly 1,000 yards and five TDs for a Patriot team that had captured yet another division title. Confident in his ability and upset with Patriot management, he held out on his team during the 2006 preseason, taking huge fines in pursuit of a better deal. Branch was eventually dealt to the Seahawks, where he has produced the average numbers that the Patriots knew he was capable of all along.
Since arriving in Seattle, he’s been constantly injured and has managed to post progressively worse receptions, yards, and games played. Branch underwent knee surgery in this past off-season to try and fix his gimpy knee.
The Seahawks signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh to a multi-year deal to come in and finally give credibility to their WR corps. Another year with Branch split out wide wasn’t going to cut it. Branch’s value as a WR is in the slot running underneath routes and using his quickness to find seams in opposing defenses. NFL cornerbacks chew this little twerp up and spit him out like a lipper of Kodiak.
