The New England Patriots reportedly are moving on from Devin Asiasi with the 2020 third-round tight end being released ahead of Tuesday afternoon. How the Patriots move forward at tight end, at least for now, is up in the air.
New England’s tight end room already is headlined by the high-priced Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. It’s a tandem the Patriots very well could be comfortable with moving forward all while Matt Sokol could be kept on the 53-man roster to provide depth. Sokol likely will find out his future by the NFL’s 4 p.m. ET deadline. But should the Patriots want a third tight end to provide improved depth behind Henry and Smith, there is a viable veteran option now available on the open market.
The Buffalo Bills released tight end O.J. Howard on Tuesday. Buffalo has a tight end group headlined by Dawson Knox and clearly is comfortable with the depth behind him. It did serve as somewhat of a surprise, though, considering the Bills signed Howard to a $3.5 million contract this offseason with more than $3 million guaranteed. Buffalo still will pay Howard despite him likely ending up elsewhere with a dead cap of $2.6 million, per Spotrac.
Is Howard a game-changer for the Patriots, who are favored to miss the playoffs on NFL betting boards? Well, no. But the former first-round still could improve the group if New England wants to roster a third player at the position.
It’s very possible the Patriots would be able to get Howard on the cheap, too, considering he’s already earning $3 million for the 2022 season. That seems like something Patriots head coach Bill Belichick might be interested in, as depicted by members of his coaching staff currently being paid by the teams they previously coached.
Howard, 27, was a first-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2017 NFL Draft. After catching 11 touchdowns in his first two seasons, injuries impacted Howard’s availability and caused him to fall down Tampa Bay’s depth chart. The arrival of Rob Gronkowski in 2020 further pushed Howard down the list with Cameron Brate forming a connection with quarterback Tom Brady, as well. It’s worth noting the arrival of Gronkowski in 2020 created speculation the Patriots could look to Howard in a trade with the Buccaneers. That, obviously, did not come to fruition.
Howard played his first full season in 2021 while starting nine of the 17 games he played. He caught just 14 passes for one touchdown and a career-low 135 yards, again, with Gronkowski and Brate ahead of him.
Should New England be interested in improving on the margins, though, it’s worth considering Howard over the 26-year-old Sokol, who the Patriots claimed off waivers in May.
