New Headline: Drake Maye Gets Major Boost as Patriots Pay $19M Signing Bonus for Top WR
The New England Patriots need another pass-catcher and more help at tight end and one analyst suggests a $19 million former Pro Bowler who could check both boxes.
Patriots named possible landing spot for $19 million Pro Bowler to help Drake Maye originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Not only do the New England Patriots need another veteran pass-catcher for Drake Maye, they also need more help at tight end.
The Patriots signed Romeo Doubs after releasing Stefon Diggs, but New England needed at least one more pass-catcher even before cutting the veteran wideout. At tight end, the Patriots lost Austin Hooper in free agency to the Atlanta Falcons , which leaves New England with Hunter Henry and not much else at the position. There is a way the Patriots can check two boxes with one signing, and that suggestion comes from Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport , who believes New England is the best landing spot for former Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku, who Spotrac projects will land a two-year, $19 million deal.
Here's Davenport's thoughts on a Njoku-Patriots pairing: With Austin Hooper gone, the Patriots have a need for a pass-catching tight end. And New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels favored "12" personnel (two tight end) groupings long before they became the hip new thing in the NFL of late. Given his injury history, Njoku is likely looking at one-year deals from here on out.
And given how that mitigates the risk of signing him, he become all the more attractive to a Patriots team that can certainly afford him. Njoku is just what the doctor ordered for the Patriots, as he'd be an upgrade over Hooper as a pass-catcher and is a good blocker. The concern with Njoku is he has had issues staying healthy the past few seasons, but the Patriots won't need a ton of snaps out of him as the No.