The Patriots made tight ends cool again. Prior to last year, a tight end was just something that gets you noticed on a Saturday night, but only if you happen to be standing beside, say, Tony Gonzalez.
Now since the Patriots did super awesome feats of strength with their tight ends last year, everyone else wants to grow a pair too. Often imitated but never duplicated until maybe this season, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez quickly became unique options at the position for Tom Brady.
Of the two, Gronk often handled the deeper duties last year and functioned as a mutant wide receiver in a tight end’s body, while Hernandez took on a more traditional role with the intermediate routes as he provided an outlet up the middle. Or at least it was traditional until later in the year when Hernandez started taking handoffs. That was just weird, but it worked because Belichick said so.
Now we’ll be seeing more experimentation and further mocking of traditional tight end values. After locking up Gronkowski to an eight-year deal worth $55.2 million earlier this offseason, the Patriots signed Hernandez to a five-year contract extension Monday morning, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston. With Gronk under contract until 2019 and Hernandez signed thru the 2018 season between this extension and the year left on his current contract, the Patriots’ tight end tandem isn’t going anywhere.
For Patriots fans, this Monday instantly became less crappy, as long as you didn’t have an assortment of eggs and spinach hurled in your direction while walking to work. And for fantasy owners of Hernandez, and also Gronk and Brady in any format — but especially dynasty and keeper leagues — this already feels like a Friday. In fact, I give you permission to leave work, and go sign up for the navy. Don’t ask why, just do it.
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