The Patriots love bringing in tight ends, and they’ve added another.
Eric Saubert was traded from the Falcons to the Patriots today. The Falcons are getting only a conditional seventh-round pick, which likely means they were about to place Saubert on waivers, and the Patriots, who as Super Bowl champions are last in the NFL’s waiver order, were willing to give the Falcons something to get him before another team could.
The Falcons took Saubert out of Drake in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft. He has been more a blocker than a receiver and has just five catches for 48 yards through two NFL seasons. But he’s been a valuable special teams contributor and was second on the Falcons in special teams snaps last year, appearing on 66 percent of special teams plays.
In New England Saubert will compete for a roster spot in a tight end room that lost Rob Gronkowski and will be without Ben Watson while he serves a suspension in Weeks 1-4. Saubert may be able to make it on a team that likes to collect a lot of players at the position.