The Patriots and tight end Hunter Henry agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension worth up to $20 million, ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported Monday. Henry, who was on the last year of a three-year contract he signed with the Patriots in 2024, is now signed through the 2028 season.
Henry is coming off a career year in receiving yards, as the 31-year-old hauled in 60 passes for 678 yards. The Arkansas alum also was on the receiving end of seven Drake Maye touchdown passes.
Currently, Henry sits fourth on the all-time Patriots tight end receiving yards list and needs just 184 yards to overtake Russ Francis’s third-place spot. For what it’s worth, it would take 4,888 yards to overtake the number one spot on the list, that spot, of course, held by Rob Gronkowski.
While the former Charger did have a good 2025, there were some causes for concern. It appeared Henry lost steam towards the end of the regular season. A career-high six drops is the number that paints only half of the picture, as most of them came in big moments.
One of which came on a third down on potential game winning drive in a week 15 matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
Even with the drops, the Patriots do not feel as if this is a cause for concern, putting their faith in Henry. It is, however, something to look out for this season.
As for the rest of the tight end room, the Patriots drafted Eli Raridon in the third round of this past year’s draft, and it appeared that Raridon was going to have a year to learn under Henry before jumping in as the starter in 2027. That plan doesn’t seem so viable anymore, but I could see a world where Henry is the number two tight end under Raridon sometime in the future.
Maye’s favorite target is now here to stay, as the team looks to give him a familiar target throughout the quarterback’s prime.