For the last five years in New England, Hunter Henry has become an invaluable part of the Patriots' offense, finally breaking the curse the team dealt with in finding a playmaker tight end after Rob Gronkowski first retired in 2019.
He is considered one of the best free-agent signings under Bill Belichick, especially in the later years, and he's well on his way to cementing his legacy this season, as he's on the brink of joining legendary company as one of the best tight ends in franchise history.
And while that has been significant for the offense over the past five years, the Patriots haven't fared as well in finding a partner for Henry to become a lethal tight end duo.
There was a lot of hope they would prioritize that once Mike Vrabel became the head coach and brought Josh McDaniels back to call the offense, as he is known for his double tight end packages, but that hasn't happened thus far, even with the effort of selecting Eli Raridon in this year's draft.
It's clear that signing Julian Hill in free agency wasn't meant to do that either, so many fans have been dreaming about who they could trade for or sign in 2027, with Lions' Sam LaPorta at the top of the list.
It's looking like Sam LaPorta is on the brink of receiving a contract extension from the Lions
Because he is playing on the final year of his rookie contract in 2026 and there hadn't been much said about getting him extended this offseason, there's a chance the Patriots could trade for him before this year's deadline.
At least, that was the feeling before the Lions made a bunch of contract adjustments to open up $39 million in cap space over the weekend, seemingly sending a sign that they're going to work out a deal for LaPorta sooner rather than later.
By restructuring Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell's contracts in recent days, Detroit created significant cap space this year and in the future to keep the superstar players they want to keep around, including LaPorta.
They already got running back Jahmyr Gibbs under contract through the 2030 season, and the belief is that LaPorta will be a priority soon, too, which takes him out of contention for the Patriots right now and ahead of next year's free agency.
Although he might not be a target that they've been looking at because they have belief in Raridon becoming the player they believe he can, and he's off to a good start with scoring the only touchdown for the Patriots in Week 1, LaPorta is a proven playmaker who could help make their tight end room more lethal right away in the way that McDaniels loves.
That looks to be off the table now, unless the Lions listen to what their fans are demanding and choose to extend a defender first, leaving LaPorta up for grabs until the trade deadline later this season.
There's a chance the Lions will extend a superstar cornerback instead
With so many players up for extension this offseason, the Lions needed to decide who to negotiate with first, and they did just that with players like Gibbs and linebacker Jack Campbell.
That leaves LaPorta and cornerback Brian Branch, and most Lions fans are demanding that the Pro Bowl defender is next on the list, given how crucial a role he serves in their secondary and how difficult it is to find a replacement for a player of his caliber.
Given the recent contract extensions for cornerbacks this offseason, with Christian Gonzalez being the latest, it's clear that keeping Branch around for the foreseeable future won't be cheap, even if it isn't anywhere near a $100 million deal that others have seen in recent months.
It presumably means that some of the money Detroit has cleared in recent days will go toward closing a deal with Branch as soon as possible, which could mean that an extension for LaPorta will either be put on the back burner or not come at all.
It's probably not something for Patriots fans to get too excited about, because it could just be a matter of time until they get a deal done for him next spring. But it's certainly worth monitoring, and the Patriots could explore it regardless, potentially changing the Lions' mind if they make a good enough trade offer.
Maybe that happens, maybe it doesn't. But it is certainly something to keep in mind as the trade deadline approaches.
Add us as a preferred source on Google