The Patriots entered training camp with few positions that had as many question marks as tight end. Aside from veteran Hunter Henry at the top of the depth chart, the team lacks answers at an important spot in Josh McDaniels' offense.
With Henry set to become a free agent at season's end, the potential for help at the position was evident. The urgency to address the situation was at least tempered as Henry and the Patriots agreed to a two-year extension reportedly worth $16 million that includes $14.5 million guaranteed and a $4.2 million signing bonus with a total potential value of $20 million.
"It means a lot, the organization as a whole, the Kraft family taking me in the middle of my career," Henry began when speaking after practice. "I enjoy the area and fanbase a lot. It's a blessing to be able to do this for 11 years. I raised my family here and that will always mean something to me personally.
"Football-wise, I just felt we were going to the right direction. Obviously, we hit a bit of a wall there, but we just keep building and building. It's been a lot of fun.
Henry is coming off arguably the best season of his career in 2025 when he caught 60 passes for a career-best 768 yards and seven touchdowns. He joins rookie third-round pick Eli Raridon, undrafted rookie Tanner Arkin, Jack Westover, C.J. Dippre and Mitch Van Vooren on the tight end depth chart following the season-ending injury to Julian Hill in the spring.
The 31-year-old Henry has been an invaluable veteran presence for Drake Maye during their time together, a fact that Mike Vrabel appreciates and mentioned earlier in camp.
"Anything that you ask him to do, it comes very easy and he's very instinctive and he's got a good feel for the game," Vrabel said. "Those are all positives, and I think that leads to his consistency."
On the field the Patriots got back to work after getting the weekend off. The players wore helmets and shells and the tempo was dialed back a bit as the team prepares for the arrival of the Indianapolis Colts for a joint session on Tuesday.
Practice began with the offense working against what appeared to be a scout team defense for the Colts while the defense did the same on the opposite field. Having Indy on hand will certainly be a welcome sight for a bunch of Patriots who have grown wary of working against each other.
"We've been having a lot of competitive days," cornerback Marcus Jones said. "At practice you really start to get to know how things are going to go and it will be good to work against someone else, especially a great organization like the Colts."
Beyond Henry's extension, here are one man's observations from Day 13 of training camp.
-- Harold Landry (PUP) and Brenden Schooler (NFI) remain out of action while Charles Woods and Christian Barmore each missed their second straight day of work. Long snapper Julian Ashby and rookie receiver Riley Dixon also were not spotted.
-- With Ashby not in uniform, the Patriots signed long snapper Niko Lalos, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss. Lalos spent time with the team during the spring but was released in late May. Ashby had a low snap during Friday's scrimmage but has otherwise looked like the steady performer he was as a rookie a year ago.
-- According to NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, The Patriots released guard Caedan Wallace, ending his brief Patriots career. Wallace was a third-round pick in 2024 but never found his footing after spending his time at Penn State playing right tackle. He battled injuries as a rookie and then moved to guard last year under Vrabel but never threatened any significant playing time. He was on and off the practice field over the past week and now will be placed on waivers.
-- Some good news in the injury department as Carlton Davis returned to the field following eight straight absences. Davis was involved in individual and positional drills but did not take part in the live 11-on-11 work. He did some conditioning running on the opposite field during that time. Also, Will Campbell was back at left tackle after missing the previous two workouts. He went wire-to-wire while wearing the same brace on his left arm/elbow that we've seen since late last week. Rookie wideout Cameron Dorner was also back in uniform.
-- With Campbell back in the lineup the offensive line returned to the unit we saw at the start of camp: from left to right, Campbell, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses. Caleb Lomu (left) and Marcus Bryant (right) manned the tackle spots with the second group. Moses did not take every rep during the team periods and Bryant took his spot during one set while Lomu did so on the next series.
-- The tempo wasn't quite full speed but not at walkthrough pace either. When the first groups worked against each other, first in 7-on-7s and then 11-on-11s, most of the action took place in the red zone. The coverage was pretty tight during those periods, but the offense did manage to make some plays. Romeo Doubs turned in what was probably his best moment of camp when he leaped over Christian Gonzalez to high point a touchdown in the end zone. He later beat Gonzalez in a late-clock situation with a back-shoulder grab near the sideline.
-- Rookie Gabe Jacas has seen his workload steadily increase in camp. He took reps with the first and second groups on Monday. He rushed the passer off both edges, although with players not in full pads it's tough to gauge how much success he enjoyed.
-- In addition to Henry, Kayshon Boutte, Rhamondre Stevenson, Christian Elliss, Terrell Jennings, Marcus Jones and Caleb Lomu all spent time chatting with the media after practice.
-- Things will heat up on Tuesday with the arrival of the Indianapolis Colts for a joint practice ahead of Thursday night's preseason opener. The session is set to run from 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. with gates opening at 9:15 a.m. The workout is open to the public, but as always please check with Patriots.com for the latest scheduled changes throughout training camp.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
