Meet The Trio Of Tight Ends The Patriots Worked Out On Thursday
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots are 3-0 and are a wagon to start this season. They do have one glaring need on the roster, though, as they look to fill a massive void at tight end.
Ben Watson will be back next week, but in the present, it doesn't help that both tight ends on the current roster -- Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo -- are each dealing with their own injuries. They've been limited at practice this week, LaCosse with an ankle injury and Izzo with a bad calf. So it should come as no surprise that the Patriots had a trio of tight ends in for a workout on Thursday.
According to ESPN's Field Yates, the Patriots welcomed tight ends Ben Koyack, Eric Tomlinson and Gabe Holmes to Gillette Stadium on Thursday. None of the players have signed with the team, and this could just be Bill Belichick updating his tight end Rolodex.
But the Patriots are scouring the depths of the free agent market for tight ends, so let's get to know the three guys they took a look at on Thursday.
Koyack had a four-year career at Notre Dame, catching 44 passes and five touchdowns for the Irish over 42 games, before getting drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round in 2015. He saw action in 30 games between 2016 and 2017, starting 10 of those contests, and had 24 receptions and a touchdown. He played in seven games for the Jags last season, but wasn't targeted at all.
Tomlinson played in three games for the Giants this season, seeing the bulk of his playing time on special teams, before being cut earlier this week. He spent the previous three years with the New York Jets after going undrafted out of UTEP in 2015, catching 16 passes for 193 yards.
Holmes also went undrafted in 2015, out of Purdue, and has worn five different jerseys since breaking into the league. He started on the Oakland Raiders practice squad in 2015, and was on their active roster at one point in 2016 before landing on IR. He was on the Seattle and Baltimore practice squads in 2017 before finding a home in Arizona, landing on their active roster in mid-December. He started the 2018 season on their roster but was waived in late October before landing back on their practice squad. He signed a futures contract with the Indianapolis Colts in January, but was waived as part of their final roster cut.
Will any of these three end up on the Patriots? Probably not, given that Watson is returning from suspension next week, but it's clear that the team is leaving no stone unturned should the need get even greater later in the season.
