The situations weren’t apples to apples, but when deciding on the right contract extension for 31-year-old tight end Hunter Henry, the New England Patriots followed a blueprint laid out by a now familiar NFC East front office.
Howie Roseman is arguably the best roster builder of the NFL’s rookie-scale era, masterfully balancing the NFL Draft and veteran contracts to field competitive teams year after year.
His Philadelphia Eagles often use every salary-cap lever and loophole available to maximize each year’s roster, which is a key reason why Patriots fans were forced to wait months for the anticipated A.J. Brown trade to become official this offseason; both teams agreed to wait until June 1 due to penalties baked into Brown’s contract.
New England’s front office may have noticed how Roseman handled a tricky situation with No. 1 tight end Dallas Goedert this spring. Now entering his age-31 season — he’s actually 27 days younger than Henry — the Eagles reportedly explored trade options at the start of the new league year before doubling back with Goedert on a new one-year contract. Philly then covered its bases by using a second-round pick on intriguing pass-catching tight end Eli Stowers in April’s draft.
Henry’s full contract details aren’t yet known, but the initial numbers reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday show a clear comp:
- Dallas Goedert’s 2026 deal: 1 year, $7 million (fully guaranteed), $4.25 million signing bonus
- Hunter Henry’s 2026 deal: 2 years, $16 million ($14.5 million guaranteed), $4.2 million signing bonus
The Patriots made a bigger bet on Hunter Henry than many expected
The parallels to Goedert’s situation are clear, right down to the Patriots using a third-round pick on a big, athletic, pass-catching tight end in Eli Raridon. Like Philadelphia, the Patriots are preparing for their next era at tight end and clearly value having a known commodity to help ease that transition.
The key difference here is the commitment. Goedert has now agreed to a bargain one-year deal to stay with the Eagles in back-to-back years. Roseman has been reluctant to make the multi-year commitment the Patriots just made to Henry, who is now tied to the team through the 2028 season.
Henry’s situation was complicated in its own right. Speaking with reporters on Monday morning, he discussed his close relationship with quarterback Drake Maye — “That’s my guy. He’s a special person,” Henry said — and how that played a factor in him taking a slight hometown discount, at least in comparison to his previous two contracts with New England.
He’s also fresh off one of the most productive seasons of his nine-year career with 768 receiving yards and 12.8 yards per reception.
But he doesn’t bring the type of physicality that Mike Vrabel covets at the position, which is why the team went out and signed Julian Hill in free agency in March. He’s also been having a quiet training camp so far, per Mike Giardi of Boston Sports Journal, with Maye working overtime to build a rapport with new wide receivers Brown and Romeo Doubs, as well as Raridon.
The Patriots certainly could have let things play out with Henry, as the Eagles did with Goedert, and explored their options in 2027. The addition of fullback Reggie Gilliam should help this season, but New England’s goal to get tougher and more physical at tight end around the line of scrimmage should continue to be a priority over the coming years.
But if the reported guarantees of $14.5 million are accurate, the Patriots just paid market value for a tight end who will turn 32 in December, and that’s a detail fans shouldn’t ignore. It proves that the team values the person and leader off the field as much as the contributor on it, and it certainly increases the chances of Henry finishing his career as a Patriot.
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