Maybe Romeo Doubs just wanted to get his annual no-catch game out of the way early.
The New England Patriots wide receiver, who arrived in the offseason via a four-year, $68 million free agency deal, did not haul in a single one of his targets on Wednesday night against the Seattle Seahawks. It was his fifth catch-less game in five years in the NFL.
He had one in 2022, one in 2023, one in 2024, and one in 2025. Now, he also has one in 2026. Based on that fact alone, happier times should be ahead for
the 26-year-old.
At his locker after Wednesday’s 13-10 defeat, however, happiness was in short supply. Accountability, on the other hand, was not.
“I just wasn’t locked in,” Doubs told reporters. “That’s all. I mean, the video speaks for itself. I’ll be better moving forward.”
Doubs was one of two high-prized wide receivers brought in by the Patriots in the spring; the former Packers fourth-round draft pick joined in free agency, A.J. Brown as a trade acquisition from the Eagles. The season opener in Seattle was an opportunity for both to finally leave their mark on New England’s offense.
Both their nights ended in an underwhelming fashion. Besides Doubs finishing with no catches, Brown left the game with an ankle injury in the third quarter after three receptions for 26 yards.
Doubs could have had similar numbers, but none of the three passes thrown his way ended up as completions. The first was picked off, the second was dropped to negate what would have been a sizable gain, the third fell incomplete on third down.
“I just put that on my end,” Doubs said. “I’ll just be able to move forward. That had nothing to do with Drake [Maye]. That was 150% me, and I’ll be better.”
Like his quarterback, who ended the day with three total interceptions, Doubs also received encouragement from his teammates after the game.
“He’s the definition of a leader,” said team captain Morgan Moses. “All of us got some things that we look in the mirror at ourselves and say, ‘Hey, we can get better.’ Going back to the drawing board. I think Game 1 is always the hardest, because you never know what they’re going to throw out there. But you just go play football. You line the football up wherever you line it up, and you go out there and you play football. There’s some things that you want to get back that you can’t get back, but it’s going to make you a better player for the rest of the season.”
For Doubs, the goal for the rest of the season is clear: live up to the trust the organization showed in him when it brought him aboard in March. Despite the outcome against the Seahawks, he seems confident in his ability to be able to do so.
“Part of my job as a player is to make this team better,” he said, “and I’ll be better moving forward.”
