The Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry have agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $37.5 million, including $25 million in guarantees, according to media reports. AP Photo/David Becker
The New England Patriots are back at it.
The Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers tight end Hunter Henry agreed Tuesday to a three-year deal worth up to $37.5 million, including $25 million in guarantees, according to media reports. Henry’s addition gives the Patriots the two best tight ends in free agency. Henry caught 60 passes for 613 yards and four touchdowns last season in Los Angeles and has long been regarded as a top-10 tight end.
Henry and Jonnu Smith now form the top tight end duo in the NFL. Both are regarded as above-average receiving threats and at least average blockers.
This was Bill Belichick on Henry last December before the Pats won a 45-0 game at the Chargers: “Henry continues to be a complete and very, very good football player for them. Henry’s really been a great player. I’ve watched him pretty much his whole career. He started at Pulaski Academy down in Little Rock … went to the Chargers and with (Virgil) Green out, he’s really played the Y role this year and showed good ability to block, catch.
“He runs a variety of routes. He’s come back off the injury and has been a very, very productive player for them, along with all their other good skill players. But, he’s done a good job for them in a running game, as well as the passing game.”
Prior to last year, Henry bounced back from a torn ACL to catch 55 balls for 652 yards and five touchdowns over the 2019 season. He initially broke out as a rookie starter in 2016, when he scored eight touchdowns. Henry followed that year with a 45-catch campaign for 579 yards and four scores.
The 26-year-old is sure-handed, having only dropped two passes over 913 offensive snaps. Together with Smith, the Pats are built to dominate the middle of the field again, as they did for years with Tom Brady at the controls. Their additions should also bolster the run game and lift the Patriots from a league-low ranking in two-tight end usage last season to one of the highest rates in the NFL in 2021.
Also Tuesday, the Patriots agreed to terms on a contract with free agent receiver Kendrick Bourne.
His agent, Henry Organ of Disruptive Sports, says the deal is for three years and could be worth as much as $22.5 million. New contracts can’t officially be signed until the league year begins on Wednesday.
New England entered free agency looking to spend at least a portion of the more than $65 million it had in salary cap space to upgrade its receiver group. The Patriots’ receivers combined for only four touchdown receptions this past season.
The 25-year-old Bourne has caught 11 touchdowns in his four seasons in San Francisco. He’ll arrive in Foxborough coming off his best season in 2020, catching 49 passes for 667 yards.
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