AP Photo/Charles Krupa – Julian Hill
Pretty much everyone in Patriots Nation is talking about the, kinda unsurprising, news of AJ Brown being signed by the Patriots.
Don’t get me wrong, this is big news! I know so many happy Pats fans with this true WR1, but typically Clare’s eye is drawn to the TE position. But in my defense, there is good reason!
The WR corps will definitely be the talk of the spring/summer, but the position that I hold dear to my heart took a knock as AJ Brown was passing his physical.
Julian Hill, the veteran blocking tight end that the Patriots secured in free agency from the Dolphins, sustained an, and I quote Coach Vrabel here, “devastating, awful” injury.
Not many details seem to have surfaced as I write this, just that it was a knee injury that occurred during practice, and is season ending.
Just as we were looking at a more rounded TE room now the offense has had a boost, one significant piece is removed and once again we look at that cupboard.
The 25 year old, 6 foot 4, 251 pound blocking tight end, wasn’t due to be as impactful as the shiny new toy of AJ Brown, but this loss could be sneaky more significant that you think.
The Patriots go into 2026 with 31 year old Hunter Henry currently in the final year of a 3-year, $27 million contract extension he signed in March 2024, and that’s it for veteran presence at the position now. Thats absolutely no slight on Hunter, and he is a superb role model for the younger guys and the rookies the Pats have, but other that number 85 the Pats TE room is:
Jack Westover 2024 UDFA, C.J. Dippre 2025 UDFA, Tanner Arkin 2026 UDFA
and Eli Raridon, 2026 third round draft selection.
With Westover touted as a fullback, but is listed on the roster as TE, and the Pats bringing in one of the top fullbacks in the NFL in Reggie Gilliam, perhaps some of Hill’s blocking assignments can be shifted easier than maybe we thought. This will definitely be a time will tell situation, as Westover was a little hit and miss with some blocking when utilised last season.
Possibly a rather dark horse is C.J. Dippre. The UDFA of 2025 began his career on the Pats practice squad before moving onto the 53 man roster in November. With him being inactive for the first four games, Dippre made his debut against the Jets on December 28th. Dippre saw a little action as tight end in the fourth quarter of the game, but then was utilised more on special teams for his second start against Miami. But Dippre is a tough player with inline blocking capabilities, he finished his final college seasons at Alabama operating primarily as a blocking specialist. With a bit of a reputation as a hard-nosed run-blocker, it will be interesting to see if McDaniels utilises these skills and if they developed during the first year the pair had together.
With Eli Raridon being a well rounded pass catching and reasonably blocking tight end, he very much looked as if he could be the future replacement for Hunter Henry after being mentored by the man himself. Hopefully Hill’s absence isn’t going to impact Raridon’s developmental year, and McDaniel’s can look at the more prominently blocking tight ends in the fold to take on the duties.
Something else to ponder is the UDFA out of Illinois, Tanner Arkin. Being an undrafted rookie he can fall off the radar somewhat, especially as it’s not uncommon for those guys to play predominately on the practice squad. Whilst Tanner isn’t exactly known as a pass game threat, he was a captain in his final two seasons at college, and what he lacks in the pass game he seems to make up for in the running attack, and is a good blocker.
So perhaps there is a silver lining to this TE cloud, that there are a couple of good blocking tight ends already wearing Patriots uniforms. It’s aways awful when a player is injured, that it was at camp, and you lose the guy for the whole season just turns the proverbial knife even more, and I seriously wish Julian a smooth and speedy recovery. Meanwhile, there may be some extra assessments to undertake in this reduced spring training programme, and then the summer.
So, whist you lovely lot are all checking out the new shiny number 1 AJ Brown, my eye will be over there with the TE’s… but hey, what’s new right?!
Go Pats!