While The Iron's Hot: Patriots Should Aggressively Pursue Trade For O.J. Howard

New England has shipped their tight end to the Buccaneers. Now Tampa Bay should return the favor.

The New England Patriots trading away Rob Gronkowski tells us two things: 1) The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' tight end room is now crowded 2) The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end room is now REALLY crowded. 

With Gronkowski reuniting with former teammate Tom Brady now, Tampa Bay has a roster with three talented tight ends on it: Gronk, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. You can expect that Gronk will get his fair share of targets down in Florida, but how does his presence impact the other two tight ends?

That's a question worth asking from the Patriots' perspective, because not only are they in need of a tight end, but the Buccaneers may have a tight end they are looking to get rid of. 

Ahead of last season's trade deadline O.J. Howard was reportedly being shopped by Tampa Bay. The former first round pick has not been a good fit in head coach Bruce Arians' offensive scheme, which has Tampa Bay reportedly shopping him around again ahead of NFL Draft. If Howard is still on the block following the trade for Gronkowski, then New England should be actively trying to make a trade happen for Howard. 

After giving up Gronkowski and a seventh round pick in exchange for a fourth round pick, there's a strong level of communication between the Patriots and Buccaneers, which could help them make a trade happen for Howard. Tampa Bay was reportedly looking to get a second round pick at the trade deadline last year for Howard, so his price tag will cheapen now that other teams know Tampa Bay is no longer in need of Howard's services. That means a third round pick would be a sensible asking price for Howard, which is a price New England can absolutely afford. 

If they are able to trade for Howard, then the Patriots can focus on other positions when the draft begins on Thursday. They were expected to draft at least one - if not two - tight ends this year. However, if they acquired Howard, that would not be necessary. The option may be available to draft developmental talent to put behind Howard on the depth chart, but using multiple drafts picks on that position would be unwarranted.