Patriots' Mike Vrabel Opens Door For Tight End Addition After Julian Hill Injury

Patriots’ Mike Vrabel Opens Door For Tight End Addition After Julian Hill Injury originally appeared on NESN.
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The New England Patriots placed tight end Julian Hill on injured reserve, and could be in the market for another tight end.

Hill signed a three-year, $15 million deal in free agency, but will now miss the season. The Patriots have Hunter Henry and Eli Raridon, but losing Hill creates a need for a third tight end, and preferably one who can be used as an exceptional blocker. Mike Vrabel was asked about adding a tight end in the wake of Hill’s injury and acknowledged that it will be something the team most likely needs to address.

“Just from a numbers standpoint in camp, that’s probably somewhere where we’ll have to evaluate the numbers,” Vrabel said on Wednesday. “There are 91 guys on every team, so we’ll just have to take a look at that. That’s probably somewhere we’d have to address.”

The Patriots have Jack Westover, who could see an expanded role with Hill out, but plain and simple, the Patriots lost a tight end, and need to fill the hole at the position.

The Patriots let Austin Hooper walk in free agency, and Hill was likely to serve as his replacement as a blocker. The market does not have many options available for the Patriots at tight end right now. They could look to make a small trade to fill their need at tight end. They could also wait for roster cuts to happen to see if someone they like got released.

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