Rob Gronkowski created a crater on the New England Patriots’ depth chart on Sunday by announcing he is retiring from the NFL. He’s simply irreplaceable. But somehow, Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels will begin to do what they have somehow managed to do more than once: devise a means to move on from a Hall of Fame player.
Here’s a look at how they’ll begin to make the Patriots offense work without their dynamic and hulking tight end.
1. Looking at the Patriots’ current tight end situation
The Patriots have no proven tight ends on their roster, with Jacob Hollister, Stephen Anderson, Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo. Here’s a quick rundown on who they are and how they can contribute.
- Hollister, Year 3: The pass-catching tight end looked outstanding last spring during minicamp and organized team activities. He was easily the team’s most improved player from his rookie season to his second season. And then training camp rolled around and his emergence lost steam with a hamstring injury that hindered him for much of the regular season. He’s not necessarily a gifted blocker, but he is a good route-runner when healthy. It has just been a question as to whether he can stay healthy.
- Anderson, Year 4: The tight end spent time with the Houston Texans, where he learned an offense similar to New England’s. He’s built like a receiver, and doesn’t have a lot of positive tape as a run blocker. In 2017 with the Houston Texans, he had 25 catches for 342 yards and a touchdown.
- LaCosse, Year 5: He’s well-rounded, but not gifted in any category. He can block. He can catch the ball. But he’s not a standout in any category. His chances of making the roster will jump — for now. The Patriots must like him, if they made a point of signing him in free agency. We’ll need to see why they liked him in the coming months.
- Izzo, Year 2: He spent the 2018 season, his rookie year, on injured reserve. When he entered the NFL out of Florida State, he seemed like he could contribute immediately as a blocking tight end with a slight possibility that he’d develop as a pass-catcher.
Next up: Can the coax Jared Cook away from the Saints?
2. Patriots may not have missed out on free agent Jared Cook
The Patriots were seeking help in the passing game in free agency before Gronkowski announced his retirement. They showed interest in receivers Golden Tate, Cole Beasley and, most aggressively, Adam Humphries. However, those receivers wound up with deals with another team. New England was also courting tight end Jared Cooks, who was set to sign with the New Orleans Saints. Cooks chose the Saints because he saw a clearer path to the top of the depth chart, according to ESPN. But the deal isn’t official. So could the Patriots re-enter the fold?
New England may prod Cook to see if it can get him to reconsider his agreement with New Orleans. Gronk’s departure will grant the Patriots more cap space, which could sweeten their offer to Cooks. He can also look at the depth chart and know that he’ll have a clear path to the top. New England probably won’t promise him a spot atop the tight end group but they can explain how they expect to deploy him. With Gronk out, they’d probably have big plans.
Next up: Who’s left in free agency? And a look at the draft…
3. Who’s left? Free agency may be picked over, but the draft boasts an elite group of tight ends.
The best options left in free agency are Cook and Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Like Cook, Seferian-Jenkins figures to be more of a pass-catching option, as his shortcomings as a blocker are glaring. But he has had strong seasons. His 2018 season was a dud, but he had 50 receptions for 357 yards and three touchdowns with the Jets in 2017. New England could also reunite with tight ends A.J. Derby and Michael Hoomanawanui. And the Patriots could kick the tires on veterans Jermaine Gresham, a talented former first-round pick who is fading athletically, or Richard Rodgers, a pass-catcher who went unused in Green Bay (an unfriendly tight end environment) and then got buried on the Eagles’ tight end depth chart in 2018.
If those options don’t tempt the Patriots, they could look to the draft which features a handful of truly gifted prospects. The two Iowa tight ends, Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson, headline the class. Fant is an elite pass-catcher with incredible athleticism but sub-par blocking skills. Hockenson is slightly less skilled as a receiver, but is a complete tight end, with the skills to contribute on every down in every way a tight end should. But they’re hardly the only talented players in the class. The other strong prospects include Alabama’s Irv Smith, Texas A&M’s Jace Sternberger, Stanford’s Kaden Smith and San Jose State’s Josh Oliver.
