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Could a recent New England Patriots failed draft pick become an under-the-radar gem for the San Francisco 49ers?
On Sunday, the 49ers worked out tight end and Patriots 2020 third-round pick, Dalton Keene, per ESPN’s Field Yates.
The Patriots released Keene last week, and he recently cleared waivers. The Niners are in the market for a low-cost tight end for depth, and while the Niners haven’t signed Keene as of Monday evening, he did draw some interest.
Per Matt Barrows of the Athletic, it’s not the first time the Niners have shown interest in Keene.
As the Niners plan to transition into the Trey Lance era, adding speedy safety-net receiving options like Keene, who can also help in the run game, makes sense.
Keene never got on track with the Patriots. He appeared in just six games through two disappointing, injury-riddled seasons with New England. In those games, he had a total of three receptions for 15 yards.
Like Keene, Devin Asiasi was also selected in the third round by the Patriots in 2020. Asiasi remains on the team for now, but he has to be considered a cut candidate when NFL rosters are set to be trimmed down to 53 players by 4 pm ET on Tuesday, August 30.
If that happens, New England would be waving goodbye to yet another potentially dangerous weapon in the passing game for second-year quarterback Mac Jones.
Tyquan Thornton Injury Update
Speaking of potentially dangerous weapons in the passing game, the Patriots lost speedy rookie wide receiver Tyquan Thornton to a fractured clavicle. Thornton had surgery to repair the injury.
The good news for the Patriots and Thornton is that the injury will not cost him his entire rookie season. The bad news is that he’ll miss 6-8 weeks recovering.
Those weeks are crucial, considering Thornton is in his rookie season. Those weeks of action could have been integral in Thornton’s development while the entire offense attempts to transition to a new system. While New England dodged a bullet of sorts with the 6-8 week timetable, they would much rather have Thornton to provide Jones a deep-ball threat through the first half of the NFL season.
Thornton’s absence may make it tougher to cut Nelson Agholor loose. With second-year speedster Tre Nixon failing to perform well outside of training camp, Agholor is the only deep-threat the Patriots have at the position.
Patriots Notes and Quotes
- Former Patriot Patrick Chung Loves Sting
If you’re looking for some of the most entertaining ex-Patriots to follow on social media, you should hone in on Patrick Chung. The retired, three-time Super Bowl champion can be found given his unfiltered opinion on a variety of topics.
In a response to fellow retired NFL safety T.J. Ward, Chung went off script with an answer. Ward asked “wrestling fans” who they liked the most: The Rock or Hulk Hogan.
Chung refused to cooperate and instead dropped the iconic Sting in his reply.
Replying with The Rock, Hogan, or Sting isn’t unacceptable as all three are legends of their industry. However, it was a little surprising we didn’t get a Ric Flair reference. Woo!
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