Patriots Sign Veteran Free Agent After Workout

The New England Patriots and the other 31 teams in the NFL are putting the final touches on their draft board ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, which begins on Thursday night. 

The Patriots are one of the many teams who will be under the microscope during draft weekend as they have a new head coach in Jerod Mayo, plus the No. 3 overall pick. New England needs a huge draft after a lackluster showing in free agency.

However, before we can look ahead to the draft, the Pats are still adding players to their 90-man roster. Howard Balzer reported over the weekend that New England worked out three free-agent tight ends — Brycen Hopkins, Mitchell Wilcox, and Sean McKeon.

Heading into the NFL draft, the Pats have Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, and LaMichael Pettway at tight end. That said, New England will add one more tight end to the picture before the first round begins on Thursday.

Evan Lazar of Patriots.com reported Monday that the team is signing former Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mitchell Wilcox. The 27-year-old Wilcox has been used as an in-line blocking tight end, but he has upside as a receiver.

Wilcox was an undrafted free agent from the University of South Florida and has spent the first two years of his career with the Bengals. The 6-foot-3 tight end has produced 29 receptions (35 targets) for 211 yards and a touchdown in 48 games. 

Last season, Wilcox had nine receptions (12 targets) for 56 yards in 17 games (four starts). The 27-year-old tight end will compete with Pettway for the third tight end job if the Pats keep three tight ends on the roster.

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