Patriots adding Watson, Tomlinson to TE rotation
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The New England Patriots' post-Rob Gronkowski era continued Tuesday with the reported additions of tight ends Eric Tomlinson and Ben Watson. The re-signing of the veteran Watson to the 53-man roster was reported by multiple outlets Monday.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Tuesday morning that the Patriots also are bringing in Tomlinson, who has played for the New York Jets and Giants. Watson, 38, was in camp with the Patriots but did not play in a game and was released last week after serving a four-game suspension for a violation of the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy.
Coach Bill Belichick originally said there wasn't room on the roster for Watson after his ban ended, but injuries to tight end Matt LaCosse and fullback Jakob Johnson in last Thursday's win over the Giants changed the team's needs and created roster space. The Patriots placed Johnson on injured reserve Monday because of a shoulder injury, while LaCosse is expected to miss a few weeks with a sprained MCL.
Watson, a 16-year NFL veteran, has 530 career receptions for 5,885 yards and 44 touchdowns. Last season in New Orleans, he had 35 catches for 400 yards and two touchdowns in 16 games (four starts). Tomlinson, 27, was cut by the Giants on Sept. 24 after playing seven offensive snaps in three games this season. In three seasons with the Jets (2016-18), he caught 16 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown in 36 games (29 starts).
Rookie seventh-round pick Ryan Izzo, 23, was the only healthy tight end on the roster before this week's additions.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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