Getty Tight end Michael Roberts is entering his third NFL season.
The tight end position will be a question mark for the New England Patriots through the rest of the offseason, training camp and the preseason. Who will replace Rob Gronkowski in the Patriots’ offense may be uncertain through the early regular season as well, unless one of the current tight ends on the roster emerges as a starter, someone is acquired in trade, or Gronkowski decides to end his retirement.
For now, however, the Patriots’ approach appears to be getting a look at as many tight ends as possible, using assorted players for different roles and utilizing their individual skill sets. Another name was added to that tight end room on Thursday with New England acquiring Michael Roberts from the Detroit Lions.
As reported by the Detroit News‘ Justin Rogers, the Patriots dealt a conditional 2020 seventh-round pick in exchange for the third-year tight end. Roberts became expendable with the Lions’ overhaul at the position, using their No. 1 draft selection on Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson (a prospect some thought the Patriots might pursue) and signing Jesse James and Logan Thomas in free agency.
Anyone hoping that Roberts could be a replacement for Gronkowski will likely be disappointed. If he’d been a productive player, the Lions surely would have kept him. He caught only nine passes last season for 100 yards and three touchdowns, limited to eight games because of a shoulder injury. For his career, the Toledo product has 13 receptions for 142 yards.
Coming off a senior season during which he caught 16 touchdowns among 45 receptions and 533 yards, Roberts was Detroit’s fourth-round pick in 2017 and looked like a promising young talent. At 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, he profiles as a strong blocker and that’s what the Lions tried to coach him into. But he didn’t develop enough in that area, and the focus on blocking may have affected his ability as a receiver.
Roberts has the opportunity for a clean slate in New England and a potential red zone target for Tom Brady. The Patriots’ early plans to replace Gronkowski have suffered setbacks with Ben Watson having to serve a four-game PED suspension to begin the season and Austin Seferian-Jenkins being released after requesting a one-month personal leave.
During spring minicamp, Matt LaCosse appeared to have taken the early lead in the tight end competition. Signing a two-year deal in March, he caught 24 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown for the Denver Broncos last season. Stephen Anderson, who spent last year on New England’s practice squad, may emerge as the best receiving threat at the position though is trying to bulk up enough to be a more effective blocker.
But Watson, 38, will return after his suspension and sitting out four games might be beneficial toward the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. He had a productive year with the New Orleans Saints, catching 35 passes for 400 yards. Seferian-Jenkins could return as well. Then there’s the possibility that Gronkowski will come back, a decision that many associated with the Patriots see as inevitable.
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