The New England Patriots added another body to their tight end room Wednesday, claiming Matt Sokol off waivers from the Detroit Lions.
Sokol, 26, has appeared in two regular-season games and recorded zero catches since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State in 2019. His most recent stint with Detroit was his second, with his first coming during Matt Patricia’s tenure as Lions head coach.
Patricia, who returned to the Patriots in an advisory role last year, will have a prominent position on New England’s offensive coaching staff this season, though his exact responsibilities have yet to be publicly disclosed.
Sokol, who also has logged multiple stints with the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars, joins a Patriots tight end group led by big-ticket 2021 signees Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. He’ll compete for a roster spot with 2019 third-round draft picks Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene, who have combined for just five career catches.
Asiasi and Keene saw action in a total of one game in 2021, with the latter spending the entire season on injured reserve and the former sitting out most of it as a healthy scratch.