Getty

Diving into a few names to keep in mind as the New England Patriots may need to add a new tight end.

There was an effort by the New England Patriots this offseason to rebuild the tight end room behind veteran Hunter Henry. That included drafting Eli Raridon and signing Julian Hill to a three-year contract.

Unfortunately, injuries have hit the Patriots already. Hill was placed on Injured Reserve at the start of June, his season over. That means the Patriots are either going to need someone on the roster to step up, or they’ll need to find a way to add a new tight end to the roster entirely.

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addressed that depth during Mandatory Minicamp, admitting they may need to add a new tight end to the roster.

“Just from a numbers standpoint at camp,” Vrabel said. “I think that is somewhere where we will probably have to evaluate the numbers. I mean, there are 90, 91 guys on every team, so we will just have to take a look at that. But I would say that is probably somewhere where we would have to address.”

Henry is still the headliner of the tight end unit for New England. Raridon is still developing. After that, the Patriots also have Jack Westover, CJ Dippre, and Tanner Arkin all battling for roster spots.

New England Patriots Insider Names Potential Tight End Additions

There is no doubt that the New England Patriots are looking at their options. The easiest would be through free agency, where ESPN’s Mike Reiss listed several interesting options that are currently available.

“Ideally it would be with a Y-type option who can move bodies on the line of scrimmage, with Will Dissly, Pharaoh Brown and Nick Vannett among the more established veterans currently available in free agency, and former Packer John FitzPatrick (fifth season) a younger option who is recovering from an Achilles injury sustained in December,” Reiss wrote.

The hope for Julian Hill was that he could bring some added physicality to the Patriots’ offense, particularly as a blocker. That would then add some versatility in the formations that New England lines up in.

Dissly most recently played for the Los Angeles Chargers, where he appeared in nine games a season ago. He had 11 receptions for 97 yards. Then, Brown played in seven games last season for the Arizona Cardinals. He had previously played for the Patriots in 2023, which was the most productive season statistically of his career. Reiss then rounded out the veterans with Vannett, who split his 2025 season between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams, not making a catch.

The younger player Reiss mentioned is Fitzpatrick. He played 15 games a season ago for the Packers. However, he suffered a torn Achilles tendon. So there are health concerns there, too.

The Patriots Were Connected to Kyle Pitts

If the Patriots want to find tight end help in the form of a trade, there are a few other options out there. That includes Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, who Yahoo Sports connected to the Patriots shortly after the Julian Hill injury.

“With the news of Julian Hill being placed on season-ending injured reserve, the Patriots could use another tight end on the roster,” Sophie Weller wrote. “And Kyle Pitts is believed to be a potential trade candidate despite the Falcons placing the franchise tag on him earlier this offseason. The team will need to sign him to an extension, but also have upcoming negotiations with Bijan Robinson and Drake London, so they could think now is the right time to trade him. The tight end finished the 2025 season with 88 receptions for 928 yards and five touchdowns.”

Pitts is a former first-round pick who has not quite lived up to expectations in the NFL. Injuries, including an MCL, haven’t helped matters. Still, he has plenty of talent.

As of now, Pitts is playing on a franchise tag without a long-term extension. That, in its own right, is going to play into how the Patriots might approach a potential trade.