One of the great mysteries of the 2017 New England Patriots season appears to have been answered: What the heck happened to draft pick Tony Garcia?

The Boston Herald reports that the third-round pick missed his entire rookie season because of blood clots in his lungs. The Herald also reports that Garcia lost 40 pounds throughout treatment but is expected to make a full recovery – though there is no timetable for his return.

The Patriots drafted Garcia with the No. 85 pick of the 2017 draft as an apparent long-term prospect at offensive tackle. As a prospect, Garcia weighed in at 6-foot-6, 302 pounds. He projected as an athletic left tackle who could grow into a potential replacement for Nate Solder.

However, that plan was derailed at the start of the regular season. Garcia was quietly placed on the non-football injury/illness list to start the year. Then in October, reports emerged that Garcia would miss the entire season – though the reason was still not known.

BILLS: Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly has once again been diagnosed with oral cancer.

Kelly released a statement Thursday saying he is “shocked and deeply saddened” by the news, and vows to again fight to overcome the disease.

Kelly had been cancer-free since September 2014 , but had been required to undergo routine follow-up testing.

JAGUARS: Defensive end Dante Fowler has been sentenced to a year of probation and 75 hours of community service for a parking lot attack on a man.

Police say Fowler was arrested last July after confronting a man who made a comment about his driving in a parking lot.

BROWNS: Armed with the first and fourth overall picks, Browns GM John Dorsey said he’s ready to listen to offers for either or both choices. Even though Dorsey himself is looking for a quarterback, he’s leaving all options available.

“My door is wide open,” Dorsey said Thursday at the scouting combine. “If somebody wants to come up and talk to me about a trade, I’m willing to trade.”

VIKINGS: Minnesota is working through a quarterback quandary with three pending free agents, ample space under the salary cap (around $50 million), and an unfulfilled desire to produce a long-term answer at the position.

Coach Mike Zimmer expressed caution about the strategy of spending their way out of the uncertainty.

“I think it’s really, really important that we understand that we’ve won 40 games in the last four years and we’ve done this by being pretty good on defense for the most part,” Zimmer said. “This year the offense was much better. Part of the reason we’ve been winning games is because we’ve been staying in games on defense, we’ve been a smart team, all those things.”

About half of NFL quarterbacks are making an average of $20 million, and prices will only increase this month with Kirk Cousins leading the list of soon-to-be free agents. Zimmer pumped the brakes on the notion of trying to win a bidding war.

“I want to be really careful about taking away from our strength … because of financial reasons,” Zimmer said.

Staying in step with what General Manager Rick Spielman said previously, Zimmer said the Vikings are still assessing the pros and cons of Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater with the market set to open on March 14. Zimmer said all three quarterbacks are “definitely” under consideration.