One of the biggest stories this preseason has been the New England Patriots situation at wide receiver, which now may appear to have an additional wrinkle to consider heading into the final roster cutdown.
The MMQB’s Albert Breer appeared on NBC Sports Boston Sunday night and he said that the Patriots may still be exploring options to bolster their tight end group ahead of the season, while also making another comment that’s a little concerning.
“I would keep an eye on the potential that they trade for a tight end. I think that’s on their radar,” Breer said via NBC Sports Boston’s Darren Hartwell.
Breer also added that when it comes to figuring out where that player might come from, he said, “Look at teams that have had coaching changes in the last couple of years,” while adding, “There are a couple of names there.”
But it was another comment he made that was a little alarming, which will potentially affect how they put their receiving corps together ahead of the 2023 season.
“The underrated story here: JuJu Smith Schuster’s knee is a mess, and that thing could explode at any point,” Breer said. “So, you almost have to keep an extra receiver because of that.”
Smith-Schuster only had one target on a short pass where he picked up just one yard in their week two meeting out in Green Bay. He played 16 snaps in that game, but there was no indication of any issues either during or following the contest. He was also active Friday night in Tennessee, but like the other starters, he didn’t see action in that one.
As it currently stands, he joins DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne among the club’s top three targets, with Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas as players who will likely factor into that mix. From there, the health of Tyquan Thornton, who went down during joint practices two weeks ago, is the other question, which will likely see his status become a little clearer within the next 24hrs when the Patriots pare down their roster.
Thornton could potentially end up on injured reserve to begin the year, much in the same way he did last year when he missed the first four weeks of the season after suffering a fractured collarbone.
For now, adding some tight end depth with Mike Gesicki also coming back from an injury certainly makes sense. But the fact that Smith-Schuster’s knee could potentially still be an issue is definitely concerning with the home opener now less than two weeks away.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
How’s Jacoby’s knee?