Patriots' Veteran 'Pumped' to Work With Mac Jones, 'Fresh' Offense

The New England Patriots' offense could use a bolt of energy. Fitting that one of its supposed vital contributors used to wear one on his helmet.

Hunter Henry's work with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers earned him a $37.5 million payday from the Patriots. His production has more or less been in tune with what he did in Southern California, but his touchdown tally plummeted to a mere two in 2022 for his lowest scoring output in six seasons.

The veteran tight end, however, has kept up with business as usual, offering his typical brand of enthusiasm to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. Young Patriots fans are basking in their Summer vacation, but Henry's just counting down the days until he can go back to work.

“I’m pumped,” Henry told Volin. “You get here and it feels like the offseason flew by, but you’re excited because football is finally back. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but (I'm) excited for it."

Henry was far from the primary source of the Patriots' sputtering, but he's not wrong: New England's offense ranked 26th in yardage and 23rd in scoring rate, earning points on only 32.8 percent of last year's possessions.

While some doubt that it's well enough to compete with the beasts of the AFC East, there are cautious, if not realistic, reasons for optimism when it comes to the Foxborough offense. The team brought in old friend and coordinator Bill O'Brien to serve as a true mastermind and supervisor after leaving the role to a defensive hive mind of Joe Judge and Matt Patricia. Also along for the ride is tenured newcomer JuJu Smith-Schuster while Patriot optimists maintain hope in Tyquan Thornton, last spring's second-round choice, taking a big professional leap forward.

But Henry was most pleased about the rapport he has built with Mac Jones, the embattled Patriots passer whose fate was in question at the onset of the offseason though late summer sanity has appeared to have prevailed, even if it's only opened questions about another certain Patriot's status.

"Me and Mac are close, we spend a good amount of time together, we’ve been throwing, getting after it, just trying to get ready to go,” Henry declared. “I think everyone’s excited for a fresh start and a fresh season. Everybody will be fired up and be ready to go.”

Upon his return to Foxborough, O'Brien would be wise to further foster the Henry/Jones collaboration: between the 2019 and 2021 seasons, only three tight ends had more touchdown receptions than Henry at 18. The first opportunity to do so lands on Aug. 10 when the Patriots open the preseason at home against the Houston Texans.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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