For weeks, the New England Patriots have had almost no answer for the retirement of Rob Gronkowski. And for weeks, they seemed like they might be able to pursue a trade for Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph. At one point, New England even showed interest in Rudolph, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
But that trade isn’t happening. Rudolph recently signed a contract extension with the Vikings. He’s going to stay in Minnesota, which apparently intends to combine Rudolph with rookie tight end and second-round draft pick Irv Smith Jr. The Patriots, meanwhile, will continue to have extreme uncertainty at the tight end position.
Along with Gronk’s retirement, New England cut tight ends Dwayne Allen and Austin Seferian-Jenkins this offseason. Seferian-Jenkins spent just a few months on the team. The Patriots also learned that Ben Watson would be suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season.
That leaves the Patriots with Matt LaCosse (who?) as the most likely starter for Week 1. LaCosse was a backup in Denver last season, though Bill Belichick said during minicamp that he views him as a player with “upside,” which is uncharacteristically high praise — even if it’s brief — of a newcomer. The other options include Stephen Anderson, Ryan Izzo and Andrew Beck.
New England will have to do what it’s famous for: making the most out of a no-name group of castoffs.
