Skip to main content

Patriots, Bucs swap RBs Jeff Demps, LeGarrette Blount in draft-day trade

After rushing for more than 1,700 yards in his first two seasons, running back LeGarrette Blount fell out of favor with Bucs coach Greg Schiano. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

(Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

The New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers agreed to an NFL Draft-day trade that sent running back LeGarrette Blount to the Patriots in exchange for running back Jeff Demps and the 229th pick.

Blount, a 1,000-yard rusher as a rookie in 2010, headlines the trade, giving New England a physical presence out of the backfield. Demps, a former Olympic sprinter, did not register a carry last season.

Both players were previously reported to be on the trading block -- Blount after losing his job to rookie sensation Doug Martin last season and Demps after announcing that he wanted to resume his track career.

From The Boston Globe:

New England signed Demps as a rookie free agent last August, just a couple of weeks after he was a member of the silver medal-winning 4 x 100-meter relay team for the United States at the Olympics.

But after playing in the Patriots’ final two preseason games, he was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury.

Then last month, news came that Demps wanted to resume his track career, but play football as well. That apparently did not sit well with coach Bill Belichick, who places commitment to football very high on the list of what he’s looking for in a player.