Danny Amendola Daniel James Amendola ( born November 2 , 1985 ) is an American football wide receiver for the New England Patriots of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2008 . He played college football at Texas Tech . Amendola has also been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and St . Louis Rams . Early years . Amendola attended The Woodlands High School in The Woodlands , Texas , under coach Weldon Willig . He completed his high school career by attempting to lead his team to its first ever Texas State championship game . Although they lost to North Shore High School , Amendola finished his senior season with 1 , 045 receiving yards , 129 rushing yards , and 8 touchdown s . College career . Amendola finished his college career at Texas Tech with 204 receptions for 2 , 246 yards and 15 touchdown s . He also returned 116 punts for 1 , 283 yards and one TD , an 11 . 06 yards per return average ranking Amendola third all - time in school history in punt returns and yardage , behind only Wes Welker and Tyrone Thurman . Amendola ' s best year was his senior year , in which he was overshadowed by teammate Michael Crabtree , but still recorded 109 catches for 1 , 245 yards and 6 TDs . In his freshman 2004 season , Amendola saw limited duty on offense but was Tech ' s leading punt returner . He was named to the All - Big 12 first team as punt return specialist . He also caught 13 passes during the season , including one touchdown pass during the 2004 game against Baylor . During the 2005 season , Amendola made two memorable plays that led to Red Raider victories . The first was late in the 2005 game against Oklahoma . Tech was trailing . On fourth down , a Cody Hodges pass attempt was tipped , and Amendola made a leaping catch in traffic . He was tackled immediately and appeared to have been stopped just short of a first down . However , the spot was reviewed by the replay officials and the final spot of the ball resulted in a first down . The drive was kept alive and resulted in yet another disputed call — Taurean Henderson ' s stretch over the goal line on the final play of regulation , which gave the Red Raiders the victory over the Sooners . Another game - changing play came when Amendola recovered the fumble from an intercepted pass during the final drive of the 2005 game against Nebraska . Tech needed a touchdown to win . Tech quarterback Cody Hodges ' pass was tipped and intercepted . Instead of taking a knee to seal the victory , the Nebraska defender decided to run with the ball and had it stripped . Amendola dove for the loose ball and recovered it . Tech retained possession , resulting in a game - winning touchdown pass from Hodges to Joel Filani on fourth down with under 30 seconds remaining . Amendola graduated with a major in Communication Studies . Professional career . Pre - draft . Amendola has drawn numerous comparisons , including from Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach , to former Tech receiver Wes Welker , now with the Denver Broncos , as the two have similar builds ( Welker is 5 ' 9 " , 185 lb , while Amendola is 5 ' 11 " , 183 lb ) , played the same positions at Tech ( slot receiver and punt returner ) . Dallas Cowboys . Amendola signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys on April 27 , 2008 . His attempt to make it pro was featured on the HBO special " Hard Knocks " . Amendola was cut by the Cowboys on August 30 and re - signed to the team ' s practice squad after clearing waivers . Philadelphia Eagles . After his contract expired with the Dallas Cowboys , Amendola was signed to the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles on January 6 , 2009 . Following the season , Amendola was re - signed to a future contract on January 19 , 2009 . He was waived during final cuts on September 5 , 2009 . He was re - signed to their practice squad on September 6 , 2009 . St . Louis Rams . Amendola was signed off the Eagles ' practice squad by the St . Louis Rams on September 22 , 2009 . In 2009 , he caught 43 passes for 326 yards and one touchdown as a slot receiver . He returned 66 kicks for 1 , 618 yards and 31 punts returns for 360 yards . He started in six games in 2010 , an increase from his two starts in 2009 . In 2010 Amendola led the NFL in all - purpose yards with 2 , 364 . On September 16 , 2012 , Amendola had 12 catches in the first half in a Week 2 game against the Washington Redskins that tied the record for most catches in a half set by Reggie Wayne in 2007 . On October 6 , 2012 , Amendola suffered a dislocated clavicle and had season - ending triceps surgery . In a rare case , instead of popping out , the clavicle popped in and came millimeters from puncturing his trachea and aorta , which could have killed him . Rams ' medical staff called around the league for information but no teams had ever had players suffering a similar injury . Amendola was anesthetized before popping the clavicle back into place . Due to the unusual nature of the injury the Rams were not certain when Amendola would return , but he was able to recover after just three weeks and recorded 11 catches for 102 yards in a hard fought tie with the San Francisco 49ers . Amendola joined Mark Chapman and Mike Carlson for the BBC ' s coverage of Super Bowl XLVI on February 5 – 6 , 2012 . New England Patriots . On March 13 , 2013 , just hours after New England Patriots slot receiver Wes Welker signed with the Denver Broncos , the Patriots announced the signing of Amendola . Amendola received a five - year contract for $ 28 . 5 million , with $ 10 million of that money guaranteed . According to Tom E . Curran of CSN New England , Amendola actually signed with the Patriots before Welker signed with the Broncos . In the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings , Amendola pledged on his Twitter feed to donate to a recovery fund $ 100 for every pass he catches during the 2013 season , and $ 200 for every dropped pass . Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty , citing Amendola , made a similar pledge ( $ 100 per tackle , and $ 200 per interception ) . In his Week 1 debut with New England , Amendola suffered a groin injury in the first half . He then returned after halftime to finish the game with 10 catches for 104 yards . Three of his catches were on crucial 3rd downs including two on the game winning drive . Amendola became the 50th receiver all time to catch a touchdown pass from Tom Brady when he caught a touchdown in the first quarter of a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 3 , 2013 .