The New England Patriots have traded tight end Jacob Hollister to the Seattle Seahawks for a conditional seventh-round pick.
Hollister joined the Patriots in 2017 as an undrafted free agent out of Wyoming, and he impressed with his athleticism and potential to contribute in the passing game. However, he dealt with a handful of injuries in his first two years and couldn’t stay on the field. Still, the Patriots kept him on the roster for two seasons amid those struggles.
During a press conference last July 30, Belichick had nice things to say about Hollister as he transitioned from his rookie year to his second.
“Jacob improved a lot last year and he’s gotten off to a good start this year from the offseason program to our spring workouts to the start of training camp,” Belichick said. “He’s still got a long way to go. He has a lot of football in front of him. He didn’t have a lot of experience – had some – but has gained a lot and will gain a lot more. I think he’s got a great future. He works hard, he’s a tough kid, he plays hard, practices hard and has become much better at his fundamentals and techniques at his position.”
Hollister’s departure comes amid upheaval at tight end for New England. Rob Gronkowski retired. The team cut Dwayne Allen and, now, they’ve parted ways with Hollister for essentially the bare-minimum compensation. They’re left with tight ends Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Matt LaCosse, Stephen Anderson and Ryan Izzo.
The Patriots’ approach to replacing Gronkowski is clearly that they won’t attempt to replace him.
