Saturday Patriots Notebook 3/21: Chandler Gives Pats A Big Weapon, Pats Show Interest in Georgia Tech Safety, More Notes

Chandler should give the Patriots quite a weapon in 2015. (USA TODAY Images)

The Patriots had a solid tandem in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez at the tight end position, with the organization even going so far as to lock up the two players for long-term deals to ensure that they would be able to keep the pair together for the foreseeable future.

Obviously Hernandez ended up being involved in off-the-field activities that now have him facing murder charges, which sent the Patriots back to the drawing board to try and find a player who could be a solid compliment to Gronkowski on the other side of the field.

Fortunately, it appears they finally found one, and Scott Chandler couldn't be happier to be where he is after recently signing a two-year deal worth up to $5.3 million.

According to Chandler the decision ultimately came down to choosing between the Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens.

"I was in a pretty good spot there, two really good organizations. That's really what it came down to. I've been playing for a while and I wanted to be a part of an organization that has a pretty good chance to win," Chandler said. "Mr. Kraft and Coach Belichick have done an amazing job of not only creating that, but sustaining that for a long period of time. So I'm looking forward to going into this year and doing whatever I can to be a part of that."

Chandler is a terrific player, with the 6'7" tight end catching 47 passes for 497 yards and 3 touchdowns last season. Against the Patriots he had a total of 7 catches, 6 of which went for first downs. The Bills were also a perfect 4-of-4 passing to him on 3rd down, all of which were conversions.

That's a pretty impressive success ratio and comparing him against Gronkowski, that was an area were the Patriots' tight end excelled in 2014. Tom Brady targeted him 37 times with 22 receptions last season, 21 of which went for a first down, including 3 touchdowns.

Now the big question will be how he's utilized in the offense but the Patriots landed a pretty terrific player who has already given them quite the upgrade at the position. The team had been relying on Tim Wright and Michael Hoomanawanui on the other side last season, but it appears now they may have a player who might be able to consistently give them some additional production.

Either way, they're fortunate to have acquired him and he'll definitely be an interesting player to watch in the coming months.

SHEARD THOUGHT THE PATRIOTS WERE GOING TO DRAFT HIM:

Back in 2011 the Patriots selected left tackle Nate Solder with the 17th overall selection, and also had the 28th and 33rd pick overall that year. According to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald, recently added defensive end Jabaal Sheard thought he might have been one of those picks and believed that the Patriots were going to select him.

"I thought I was going to be drafted there, honestly," Sheard told the Herald. "I got a second shot at it. Meeting with the coaches again, the same coaches, coming from a program where I was seeing new coaches every year, there's some consistency there. I think that was huge. Just the fact that guys have been doing it for a while and I want to be part of that."

Instead they traded the 28th pick to the Saints for a second round pick, who ended up being Shane Vereen, and a first-round pick in 2012, which they used to trade up to grab Chandler Jones. They kept the 33rd overall pick and used it on Ras-I Dowling, which as we know ended up being a disappointment since injuries plagued him and they parted ways with him after just two seasons. Sheard was eventually picked at 37 by the Cleveland Browns.

The good news is that now he's here and the Browns ended up being the ones to develop him and he comes to New England as a seasoned player. Hopefully he'll be able to contribute in a big way to their defense in 2015 and he's excited to get started.

"Coming from a not-so-good program to a great program that has been winning and doing well, I've just been excited," Sheard said via the Boston Herald. "I want to win in the league, and I want to be part of a great organization. That was a big part of me signing."

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

- According to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports, the Patriots are scheduled to work out Duke wide receiver Jamison Crowder. Crowder is a two-time All-ACC receiver who was also named all-conference for his special teams prowess in 2014, including two punt returns for touchdowns.

- The Patriots have also shown interest in Georgia Tech safety Isaiah Johnson. According to Ken Sugiura of AJC.com the Texans, Patriots and Chiefs were among teams who contacted Johnson's agent following his recent pro-day.

- Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston has additional details of recently signed CB Chimdi Chekwa's contract, which is a one-year deal with a total value of $825,000. According to Reiss the deal also included a $50,000 signing bonus along with a workout bonus of $30,000.

- Patriots hero Malcolm Butler continues doing all the right things this offseason, with WMTW out of Portland reporting that the cornerback recently visited the Barbara Bush Children's hospital and signed pictures, T-Shirts, and anything they wanted. Said Butler, "It means a lot. I'm sort of a role model right now, so I have to do positive things and give back." He's been involved in a lot of charity work this offseason and instead of his new found fame going to his head, and instead of partying and living it up, he's continued channeling it in the right direction and it's something that definitely shouldn't go unnoticed. Good for him.

- According to Nick O'Malley of MassLive.com, Patriots running back Jonas Gray was recently awarded the key to the city in his home town of Pontiac, Michigan. O'Malley spotted the post on Gray's instagram account where the running back talked about how honored he was. "Speechless...A young kid who grew up with a single mom in the inner city with big dreams! One of those achievements in my life that truly no one can ever take away from me and my family. The KEY to the City Of #Pontiac. Born and raised here and will continue to put the city on the map! Happy I was able to share it with my two bestfriends". Good stuff.

- If you're interested in walking on the same field that the Patriots won the Super Bowl on in Arizona this past February, the opportunity may be a little easier than you might think. According to the Arizona Caridnals' website, the turf that was used at University of Phoenix Stadium in early February was recently installed at Tolleson Union High School, which is about 10 minutes away from the Cardinals' home field.