It’s been a very active offseason for the New England Patriots, building a roster that they hope can get them back to the Super Bowl. It’s also an offseason of additions that may not be over yet.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel addressed this possibility. In particular, he’d cite tight end as a position the team may still be interested in addressing.
“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.”
The Patriots return Hunter Henry, a veteran presence, to be the team’s starting tight end. After that, however, tight end two is an open question. New England had signed Julian Hill to fill that role, but put him on injured reserve and ending his season.
That leaves a more open battle for the second tight end slot. Most would consider rookie Eli Raridon the favorite. He’s not alone, though, with Jack Westover, CJ Dippre, and Tanner Arkin all also battling for roster spots.
Mike Vrabel Recently Addressed the Julian Hill Injury
The Patriots added Julian Hill this offseason on a three-year, $15 million deal. That came after he was undrafted in 2023, Hill landed with the Miami Dolphins. There, he would end up playing in 45 games with 26 starts over three seasons. 33 receptions for 288 yards, or 8.7 yards per reception.
The hope had been that Hill would be a key piece to the puzzle for the Patriots. That won’t be the case now, and it was a loss that Vrabel spoke about in early June.
“Julian won’t be able to play this season. That’s plain and simple. Devastating, awful,” Vrabel said at the time. “Really enjoy the person, and want to have him around here as much as we possibly can.
Long-term, the Patriots will likely expect Hill to be back at some point in the future. It is a three-year deal, after all. However, for 2026, New England needs a new option in his spot.
Mike Vrabel Addressed New England Patriots Rookie Eli Raridon
The Patriots used a third-round pick to take Notre Dame tight end Eli Raridon. It was a high-upside pick where the Patriots wanted to grab someone for their potential.
Raridon’s potential is very real. Mike Vrabel has seen that, too. At the same time, he is still learning and learning to play at NFL speed.
“Willing, conscientious, wants to learn. I think there are a lot of new things coming from college. Terminology is different and there are a lot of things that are new to him, but I would say that he picks things up quickly. When he is able to play with the speed that he has available to him in his body, that has kind of showed out. Then with a lot of these young guys, just the terminology, the routes, the coverage, just try to eliminate and allow them to play as fast as possible,” Vrabel said.
“So, in the spring it’s like, ‘Hey, let us try to play out of control, let us play too fast.’ Then if you make a mistake, that is fine. But we have got to start training that play speed so that when we do grasp everything really well, the play speed is there. It’s not something that we should learn what to do and go slow. We have to play at a play speed that we are going to need in the games, and the ability to separate or get open. So, that has been a focus that we have tried to ask him to do, is as you learn, play a little faster, and if you make mistakes, we will coach them. But we have to play with a certain speed.”
While in college, Raridon did battle his own injury issues. Two torn ACLs limited him early in his college career, but with 15.1 yards per reception in 2025, there is plenty of talent to dream about for the Patriots.
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