The 2024 season is not over yet, but it has already become quite clear that several of the New England Patriots’ offseason investments have so far been a miss rather than a hit. One exception is tight end Austin Hooper, who joined the team on a one-year, $3 million free agency contract in March.
The 30-year-old has proven himself a reliable contributor, and somebody the Patriots might be interested in keeping around. One player in particular went to bat for Hooper recently: appearing on WEEI on Monday, fellow tight end Hunter Henry lobbied for the team to re-sign the pending free agent.
“I would love to have Hoop back,” Henry said. “At the end of the day it’s going to be a decision between him and the front office, and all that, but I would love to have Hoop back.”
A third-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft, Hooper spent time in Atlanta, Cleveland, Tennessee and Las Vegas before arriving in New England. His stint with the Browns in 2020 and 2021 in particular might have impacted the Patriots’ decision to pursue him in free agency.
Back then, he played a combined 31 games under offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. With Van Pelt joining the Patriots in the same capacity during the offseason, adding an experienced player like Hooper made plenty of sense.
Nine months later, the signing is indeed looking good. The 30-year-old has developed a solid chemistry with rookie quarterback Drake Maye, and caught a total of 38 passes for 430 yards and a team-leading 3 touchdowns in his 15 games so far.
And while his outlook for the final two games is uncertain following an injury sustained against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, there is no denying Hooper has proven his value.
“He’s a guy that’s a tremendous players in this league, done a lot of great things,” said Henry in his pitch to the Patriots’ decision makers. “We complement each other in a lot of ways; we see the game in a similar way, too. He has a lot of snaps of football at this level
