Patriots To Sign TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins

The Patriots have agreed to sign tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins to a one-year deal, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. 

The pact is worth the veteran minimum salary, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), who adds ASJ chose New England over the Seahawks. Seferian-Jenkins received a $50K signing bonus and can earn another $40K in additional bonuses, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.

New England is facing the overwhelming task of replacing All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski, who retired late last month. Seferian-Jenkins, clearly, isn’t Gronk, but he’ll give the Patriots another option on a tight end depth chart that also includes Jacob Hollister, Stephen Anderson, Ryan Izzo, and free agent addition Matt LaCosse.

A former second-round pick, Seferian-Jenkins floundered until joining the Jets midway through the 2016 campaign. In 2017, ASJ started 10 games for New York, posting 50 receptions for 357 yards (both career-highs) and three touchdowns. That performance earned him a two-year $10MM deal with the Jaguars.

Seferian-Jenkins’ season with Jacksonville wasn’t a success, as he appeared in only five games before landing on injured reserve. ASJ posted only 11 total receptions and ranked as one of the NFL’s least efficient tight ends, per Football Outsiders. On the positive side, Pro Football Focus did grade Seferian-Jenkins as a top-11 run-blocker at his position.

Given the low level of the Patriots’ contractual commitment, signing Seferian-Jenkins shouldn’t rule out another tight end addition in New England. Several draft prospects — including Iowa’s Noah Fant and Alabama’s Irv Smith Jr. — have been popularly mocked to the Patriots.

View Comments (10)