With the Patriots currently battling injuries at the tight end position, they are in need of able bodies as extra depth before the start of training camp roles around. On Tuesday, they added arguably the best available option on the market. Jason Cole reports:

Visanthe Shiancoe has signed a 1-year deal with New England

— Jason Cole (@JasonColeYahoo) July 24, 2012

Shiancoe, 32, is a nine-year NFL veteran who has had mild success as a blocking and receiving tight end. Although he spent the first four years of his career with the Giants, Shiancoe's career really "took off" (if you want to call it that) with the Minnesota Vikings. His best season came back in 2009 when he caught 56 passes for 566 yards and 11 touchdowns from Brett Favre.

In 2011, Shaincoe gave way to rookie Kyle Rudolph, and only caught 36 passes for 409 yards and three touchdowns.

For the Patriots, they are getting a solid depth tight end who has the potential to be an effective fill-in. We heard earlier this week that Rob Gronkowski will be good to go for training camp, so the acquisition of Shiancoe shouldn't raise a whole lot of questions. Current third-string tight end Daniel Fells is expected to be placed on the PUP list on Thursday, when Patriots training camp begins.