FOXBOROUGH — The two oldest Patriots connected on a long, beautiful pass completion during Thursday’s final minicamp practice, the receiver reading the pass perfectly, coming back for the ball in front of a leaping defender.
The quarterback, of course, was Tom Brady, who turns 39 on Aug. 3. The receiver will be 33 on Aug. 28, hoping that his first season with the Patriots becomes his 12th year in the NFL.
Say hello to Nate Washington.
Signed on March 24 after spending last season with the Texans (and the six before that with the Titans, and the four before that with the Steelers), Washington simply wants an opportunity to prove that, at 32, he’s good enough, fast enough, and reliable enough to remain a relevant wide receiver in the NFL.
“This has been a heck of a journey, my NFL career. I didn’t think I would last this long, but by the grace of God and hard work, I’m still here,’’ Washington said. “It’s an honor to be with this organization. Even for them to invite me here to this camp shows that they really appreciate what I’ve put on film.’’
Washington made his share of plays this week at the team’s mandatory minicamp, even though players weren’t wearing pads and there was no tackling and very little contact. He got plenty of reps because two of the players who would be ahead of him on the depth chart — if such a thing existed at this point in time — skipped the workouts to continue their recovery from offseason surgeries. The absence of Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola gives a player such as Washington a chance to turn some heads.
“He’s done well. He’s a veteran guy. I don’t sit in their meetings, but it looks like it wasn’t hard for him to understand and catch on to what they were talking about on offense, because he’s been out here a ton and he’s been able to make plays,’’ said safety Devin McCourty. “He’s an older guy, but he looks young out here.’’
McCourty said he’s gone up against Washington in past seasons when the Patriots faced the Texans, Titans, and Steelers. But he also got to know him well during Washington’s six years in Tennessee, since McCourty’s twin brother plays there. When Washington was looking for a new place to play, McCourty gave him the sales pitch.
The rest will be up to a receiver who has carved out an 11-year NFL career, despite not being drafted out of Tiffin University, a small Division 2 school located near Washington’s hometown of Toledo, Ohio. Undrafted, all Washington has done is catch 458 passes for 6,954 yards and 44 touchdowns. He’s had one 1,000-yard season, in 2011 with the Titans.
Washington has been durable, playing in all 16 regular-season games for nine straight seasons before missing two games last year. He’s also been consistent, with at least 40 catches in each of the past eight seasons. Only two wide receivers for the Patriots — Edelman and Amendola — had that many receptions last year (tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back James White also had at least 40).
Washington is also known for his speed. He says he can still run.
“Oh yeah, definitely. It’s been an intricate part of my career, something I’ve had that’s separated me from others,’’ Washington said.
He’ll need that separation, because landing a roster spot won’t be easy. In addition to Edelman and Amendola, Washington will be competing with Keshawn Martin, Chris Hogan, Aaron Dobson, Chris Harper, DeAndre Carter, and a pair of recent draft picks in Malcolm Mitchell and Devin Lucien. They won’t all be able to stay.
Asked why the Patriots culture suits him, Washington gave an answer that shows the kind of commitment that often gets recognized and rewarded here.
“I have no social media. I just try to keep my head down, tunnel vision,’’ Washington said. “We push each other. We’re not into playing number games, we’re just into carrying out our assignments and doing whatever we can to help our team out. It’s a brotherhood at the end of the day. Nobody’s in competition with each other, attitude-wise. We’re still helping each other.’’
Michael Whitmer can be reached at mwhitmer@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeWhitmer.
