The New England Patriots have opted to release wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, according to the Boston Herald‘s Jeff Howe.

The team had until the end of Saturday to decide whether to pick up his $3 million roster bonus for the 2013-14 season. Lloyd spent just one season with the Patriots, catching 72 passes for 911 yards and four touchdowns after signing a three-year, $12-million contract last offseason.

He was due to make $1.9 million in salary, but the $4.9 million against the cap that New England would have been charged was apparently too steep of a price.

The Patriots will release Brandon Lloyd, according to a source.—
Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) March 16, 2013

The team attempted to restructure Lloyd’s deal and were “50-50″ on whether to release him, according to CSNNE.com’s Tom Curran, who provided details of the previous deal.

As it stands now, Lloyd is due to make $1.9M in salary. He also has a $100,000 workout bonus and $1.5M in “Not Likely To Be Earned” (NLTBE) incentives.

Lloyd’s $3M signing bonus was split into three $1M payouts, he’s already received one and the next two were deferred until March 31 of 2013 and 2014.

Lloyd, 31, enjoyed his best season with the Denver Broncos in 2010, catching 77 passes for a league-leading 1,448 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The New England Patriots aren’t done yet — shortly after adding free-agent wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez earlier today, the Pats have also come to terms with former St. Louis Ram Brandon Lloyd, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.

And there's a second wideout added: Patriots have reached agreement with free-agent wide receiver Brandon Lloyd.

—
Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 18, 2012

Lloyd spent last season split between the Denver Broncos, who traded him in October, and the Rams. All told, he amassed 966 receiving yards and five touchdowns. The previous year, he led the entire NFL with 1,448 yards and also caught 11 TDs.

Gonzalez and Lloyd team up with Wes Welker to form a mighty trifecta of wideouts in New England. After losing Super Bowl XLVI to the New York Giants on a couple of untimely dropped passes, the Pats have reloaded their receiving corps in impressive fashion this offseason.