Patriots Signing Hunter Henry, Putting Together Another Dynamite TE Duo

The New England Patriots continue to make big-splash signings in free agency.

First, it was Jonnu Smith and Matthew Judon. The team then turned to other options on the market, such as wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, defensive back Jalen Mills and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux.

New England wasn’t finished though.

On Tuesday morning, Adam Schefter with ESPN announced that the Patriots planned to sign Hunter Henry, another tight end. It will be a three-year deal worth $37.5 million — with $25 million of that guaranteed.

And New England strikes again: The Patriots are signing former Chargers' TE Hunter Henry to a three-year, $37.5 million deal, including $25 million guaranteed, per source.

Free agency's top two tight ends, Henry and Jonnu Smith, wind up in New England.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 16, 2021

The former second-round pick for the Los Angeles Chargers has struggled to stay healthy at times, but he’s been effective when on the field. In 55 career games, Henry has brought in 196 receptions for 2,322 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Now he’ll be working in tandem with Smith, which means the Patriots will bring back the infamous two tight end sets. They attempted to do that in the draft last year, taking tight ends Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene in the third round. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out.

Now that the team has signed the top two tight ends on the free agent market, they hope to bring back that dynamic 1-2 punch at the position. It’s something we haven’t seen in New England since the days of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

Bill Belichick is going all out to get back to the playoffs. The Patriots missed the postseason last year for the first time since 2008.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.