Patriots Acquire Multiple Tight Ends To Fill Crippled Depth Chart
After Dalton Keene was placed on injured reserve, it was clear that the New England Patriots could use some reinforcements at the tight end position. Keene joined rookie tight end Devin Asiasi on injured reserve this week, leaving Ryan Izzo as the only healthy player at the position. The hole that was left by Rob Gronkowski continues to remain unfilled.
To help filled their crippled depth chart at tight end, New England made several transactions this week. They claimed former Cardinals tight end Jordan Thomas off waivers, and signed Dylan Cantrell and David Wells to their practice squad.
Thomas was drafted by the Houston Texans in 2018 and appeared in 25 games over his three seasons in the NFL, with the final four being in Arizona this season. With 12 starts, Thomas tallied 22 catches for 226 yards and five touchdowns.
What stands out about Thomas is his size. At 6-foot-5, 277 pounds, New England could use him in the red zone and it is well known that Cam Newton enjoys throwing to large pass catchers.
With the Patriots struggling close to the end zone and wanting to keep Newton healthy, adding a red zone target is a smart addition. This will take some of the pressure off the Quarterback to make some magic happen with his feet and risk getting injured.
Cantrell was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2018. He has yet to appear in a regular season game. He had quite the senior season at Texas Tech prior to being drafted by the Chargers in 2018. He racked up 71 catches for 816 yards and seven touchdowns.
Compared to Thomas, Cantrell would be more of a speedy option standing at 6-foot-3. Coming out of college some even expected him to be a slot wide receiver. If Cantrell is being covered by linebackers that could be a favorable matchup.
Wells at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds went undrafted out of San Diego State. He played for the Chiefs during the summer of 2019 but was waived early in August.
While it remains to be seen how much of an impact these players will make, just having them on the roster ensures that New England has options if Izzo was to get hurt.
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