After being soundly drubbed in the Super Bowl by the Seattle Seahawks, Mike Vrabel and his team can waste no time in addressing the obvious roster shortcomings. Phase one of the reconstruction was a rousing success beyond even the wildest expectations.
But the shortcomings are still evident, beginning with sack prevention and sack production. Yet another area that former Patriots' star James White thinks needs addressing is the tight end. And he's spot on in his analysis.
Tight end is a position that has received little attention by the Patriots, no matter who's been drafting. Bill Belichick attempted to address the position by selecting two third-rounders in 202, Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene. They didn't work out, and neither did Jerod Mayo's pick of Jaheim Bell in 2024.
Now, Vrabel is faced with an aging tight end room, with 31-year-old Hunter Henry as his only reliable player. He's in the last year of a 3-year contract and has a cap hit of $11.5M. His dead cap money is only $2.5M. That means releasing Henry would save over $9M on the cap. It's a tempting proposition, but unfortunately, after Henry, the tight end cupboard is bare. Backup Austin Hooper is a free agent.
The Patriots need to add a tight end or two during the 2026 offseason
Whether it be in free agency or the draft or both, Vrabel has to finally add to his tight end room this offseason. If Hooper is not re-signed, a distinct possibility, then Vrabel will need to add at least two tight ends.
Former Patriots' great running back James White, on his podcast, "The Money Down," also feels the Patriots need to add to the tight end unit this offseason.
"Now, for me for the Pats, I’d love to see them get a guy like Kyle Pitts, or even David Njoku getting another tight end. Got Hunter Henry, he’s getting up there. Austin Hooper, he played solid for us… Getting a young tight end. You know, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels loves to use 12 personnel, puts a defense in a bind. Whether you want to play nickel, whether you want to play base defense, spread them out, run the ball, do a lot of different things.”
The position has been neglected in the draft for years; the time to add it is now. Vrabel should sign a top free-agent tight end and then draft one. The reliable Henry may start or be the backup tight end, but securing at least one tight end for the future, as White suggests, is essential this offseason.
Patriots need to look at these free agent tight ends
The Patriots have kicked the tight end can down the road for too long. They've neglected the position in the draft, and free agent signings after Henry, one of quarterback Drake Maye's go-to targets, have only been backup-level players. The team has relied on the waiver wire and undrafted free agency for depth.
Sports Illustrated listed its top ten 2026 free agent tight ends. Their top of the heap is Travis Kelce, but he's unlikely to be a Patriot. More realistic are SI's next two candidates, the cream of the crop, Kyle Pitts from the Falcons and the Ravens' Isaiah Likely.
The 25-year-old Pitts is the Mercedes in the field. He caught 88 passes for 928 yards and five touchdowns in 2025. Signing Pitts would allow the Patriots to either cut Henry outright or restructure his contract as a backup. It's the top option for Vrabel if he's willing to pay the freight.
Likely will be more of a bargain. Yet, he caught only 27 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown in 14 games in 2025. A sentimental favorite, having played at Everett (MA) High School, he'll be far less costly. But Pitts is the player to target if the Patriots are serious about really upgrading their pass-catching options.
Dallas Goedert of the Eagles is a 31-year-old free agent and a decent option. He had a solid 2025 with 60 catches for 591 yards and a whopping 11 touchdowns. He's a top red zone threat, and you can never score enough touchdowns.
But his age is a negative. Vrabel can also, of course, consider draft options (see Round 2 of the mock draft).
Whether Vrabel goes for a complete tight end room makeover by cutting Henry and going all-out for Pitts, and then drafting, is subject to conjecture. It seems unlikely that Henry is going anywhere. Regardless of the strategy, James White is right, the Patriots need to add to the tight end room, get younger, and hopefully better. They've delayed this eventuality for far too long already.