After agreeing to a new deal with Hunter Henry, the Patriots aren’t carried out including to their tight ends room. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Patriots have agreed to a deal with Austin Hooper.
The veteran is inking a one-year deal with New England, per Rapoport. The contract can hit a max value of $4.25M.
The pass reunites Hooper with Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who used to be Hooper’s OC at some stage in the tight end’s two years in Cleveland. Hooper had eighty four catches and seven touchdowns across two seasons with the Browns.
Hooper has struggled to match his Falcons numbers in current years. The former third-round pick topped five hundred receiving yards for Atlanta every season between 2017 and 2019. He earned Pro Bowl nods in each 2018 and 2019, and he finished that latter season with profession highs in receptions (75), receiving yards (787), and touchdowns (six).
That overall performance earned him a four-year, $44M deal with the Browns in 2020, but Hooper solely lasted two seasons in Cleveland before getting released. He hauled in forty one catches for the Titans in 2022 before catching on with the Raiders in 2023. He finished this previous season with 25 catches, his lowest total considering his rookie campaign. Pro Football Focus ended up ranking him forty first among 72 qualifying tight ends, though he finished 2nd at his role for his pass-block ability.
The Patriots brought in Mike Gesicki to change Jonnu Smith in 2023, but the former Dolphins tight end struggled during his lone season in New England. Gesicki finished the season with 29 catches for 244 yards, his lowest totals in view that his rookie year.
With the Patriots eyeing a new offense in 2024, there’s a risk the agency gets greater out of its tight ends. Henry is still atop the depth chart in New England, however the group has leaned heavily on their backup tight end in current years. Besides Henry and Hooper, the only different tight stop presently on the roster is La’Michael Pettway, so the Patriots might also no longer be completed adding gamers at the position.
