The New England Patriots might not be done adding at wide receiver.
According to reports from NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Field Yates, the Patriots on Monday worked out four free agent wideouts: Justin Hunter, Nick Williams, Papi White and Travin Dural. The first practice of Patriots training camp is scheduled for Thursday morning.
Hunter, 28, was a second-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2013. He spent the last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers but played sparingly, catching four passes in seven games in 2017 and three passes in five games in 2018. Before joining the Steelers, Hunter played for two of the Patriots’ AFC East rivals in 2016, appearing in one game for the Miami Dolphins (zero catches) and 12 for the Buffalo Bills (10 catches, 189 yards, four touchdowns).
Williams, a 28-year-old UConn product, hasn’t been on an NFL roster since being released by the Los Angeles Rams last November. He’s also spent time with the Titans, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins — catching 30 career passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns in 26 career games — and has kick and punt return experience.
White is an undrafted rookie. He had a brief stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars this spring after catching 62 passes for 987 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior at Ohio last season. A converted running back, White averaged 5.2 yards per carry on 91 collegiate attempts while also returning punts.
Dural, who went undrafted out of LSU in 2017, spent his rookie season on the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad and missed all of last season with a broken humerus. Dural has yet to appear in a regular-season NFL game and was waived by the Saints last month.
Unfamiliarity abounds in the Patriots’ current receiving corps, which includes just two players (Julian Edelman and Phillip Dorsett) who have caught a regular-season pass from Tom Brady. First-round draft pick N’Keal Harry, veterans Maurice Harris and Dontrelle Inman and UDFAs Jakobi Meyers, Ryan Davis and Gunner Olszewski all joined the team this offseason, and Braxton Berrios (injured reserve in 2018) and Damoun Patterson (practice squad in 2018) have yet to make their NFL debuts.
News broke Monday morning that Edelman, who led New England in receiving yards last season despite playing in just 12 games, is dealing with a thumb injury that is expected to sideline him for the start of training camp and into the preseason.
Newcomer Demaryius Thomas also will be unavailable for the foreseeable future. The former Denver Broncos star will begin camp on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from a torn Achilles suffered in December.
