Didn't see this coming, always liked how Mankins played, but I'm going with the one year earlier and cap room angle.
I have no idea who the kid from Rutgers is but I thought this was interesting, he had his three best games last year At Seattle (4 catches for 58 yards, TD) At Detroit (8 catches for 75 yards) and home to SF (7 catches, 82 yards, TD) not exactly the AFC east! Those are some good numbers against very good defenses, two of which were on the road, all from passes not thrown from a HOF QB. This certainly answers the "how to replace Hernandez" questions.