Donte Stallworth says he's better than he was in 2007
Stallworth also feels that he's a better receiver now, despite being 31 years old.
"I think [earlier in his career] I was really more relying on my talent. Now that I'm going into my 10th year, I think I run better routes now and understand different coverages and what teams are trying to do.
"That's a big thing because you always hear people say this game is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. I don't know who came up with that percentage, but I would say that it's fairly accurate for certain reasons. You just look at a guy -- not by any means, don't take this wrong like I'm comparing myself to Jerry Rice -- but Jerry Rice wasn't the most talented guy. But he was the best receiver to ever play this game just because he understood what defenses were trying to do. He understood the little nuances of zone coverages and things like that. That's something I've gotten a lot better at as I've gotten older in my career."
Stallworth had 46 receptions for 697 yards and three touchdowns in his first and only year with the Patriots back in '07. He was third on the team in receptions that year, behind Wes Welker and Randy Moss. However, things went south for Stallworth since leaving - as he has 30 catches for 561 yards in his three post-Patriot seasons.
He signed with Cleveland after 2007 and had a subpar season, missing five games. In the off-season he was arrested for killing a man while drunk driving and spent 24 days in jail. He was suspended for the entire 2009 season - playing with both Baltimore and most recently Washington but having little impact.
Stallworth may have killed a man while drunk driving, but there's more to his story.
Years later, he revealed that after the incident that Tom Brady texted him saying "Everyone knows you're a good person".
Stallworth's lawyers indicated that he could have fought the charges and had a great chance of being found innocent, but the receiver refused to do that on moral grounds and wanted to be convicted of the felony.
He comes off very personable and thoughtful in interviews, it would be a great story if he could make this team and contribute - after so much had gone wrong since he left.
