You are lying to yourself if you claim to know anything about the Patriots in 2024. They have so many gaping holes to fill on a terrible roster with a rookie head coach (Jerod Mayo) and GM (Eliot Wolf). They do have the No. 3 overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft but what they will do that-besides hopefully selecting a quarterback-is anybody's best guess. I sure am bored to death of mock drafts with still a month and half left to go before the actual draft begins which is why it was refreshing to see some real Patriots related news today: they are re-signing tight end Hunter Henry to a three-year deal with a base value of $27 million that can get up to $30 million with performance-based incentives.
On paper (and in real life) this is far from the sexiest move possible except that Henry is a solid and dependable veteran on a team that is lacking in guys that can be described with either of those positive characteristics. Sure, he is coming off his worst statistical season out of three in New England-and arguably in his seven-year NFL life-but that is understandable when you remember that he was catching passes from Mac Jones and then Bailey Zappe-arguably the worst QB situation in the league last year. After four nagging injury-filled seasons with the Chargers, Henry actually played in all 17 games in 2021 and 2022 with the Pats before missing three games last season. He has shown a durability and toughness that watching from afar, I did not think that he possessed.
Who knows who will be the Patriots' starting quarterback in Week 1 this September but whomever it is, needs to quickly develop some chemistry with Henry who is a legitimate red zone threat on a team that is severely lacking in those. His best season in Foxborough was in 2021 with rookie Mac Jones: 60 catches, 613 receiving yards and a career-high nine touchdown catches. Those numbers dipped the following year with bozo Matt Patricia as the offensive coordinator: 41 catches, 509 receiving yards and two touchdown catches. In 2023, Henry was limited to 42 catches and 419 yards but he did have six touchdown grabs which seems like a miracle for such a pitiful offense that was totally allergic to the end zone.
He will never be confused with Ben Coates or Rob Gronkowski-the two best tight ends in team history (and in Gronk's case, maybe NFL history)-but Henry is a professional and worthy of investing in while he is only 29 years old and with (fingers crossed) some productive campaigns still left ahead of him. No matter if the Pats are starting a rookie QB or a stop-gap veteran, either of those guys will desperately need someone that will get open in the middle of the field and not that far away from the line of scrimmage. Enter Henry who has good hands and sneaky athleticism for a white guy from Arkansas.
Henry's career-high for catches (60 in 2020 with the Chargers) and receiving yards (652 in 2019 with the Chargers) might be unattainable at this point for a variety of reasons with the Patriots but at least they are something to shoot for. Unless they sign a bunch of good wide receivers in free agency, he is likely to be their best pass catcher for at least the near future. It is also nice for once to see them rightfully pay a guy who has been a good soldier throughout some turbulent years (for the team) here. He has played on a bunch of average to bad NFL teams, therefore Henry is deserving of competing for a winner. When the Patriots will return to being a true contender and playoff team again hopefully is not that far away.
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