2018 NFL free agency: Former Lions TE Eric Ebron has a scheduled visit with the Patriots

Add another player who has a scheduled visit with the Patriots. Falcons edge rusher Adrian Clayborn was the first reported player to have scheduled a visit with New England. Now it looks like former Lions TE Eric Ebron has scheduled a visit with the Patriots.

Ebron was the 10th pick of the 2014 draft by the Lions, but has been nothing short of inconsistent in 4 years. The Lions released him before the 5th year option could become guaranteed earlier this week. The Patriots have Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, Jacob Hollister, and Will Tye on the roster at the position, but the depth behind Gronk is a bit sketchy to say the least.

Allen is a solid blocker but isn’t much of a factor in the passing game, so it will be interesting to see if the Patriots ask him for a paycut considering $5M is too rich for a blocking TE. Hollister is of the opposite mold where his abilities as a pass catcher are more developed compared to being a blocker. He’s more of a developmental player right now that was a non-factor last season as an undrafted rookie, but the Patriots liked him enough to keep him around all season. Tye spent the year on the practice squad, but previously was the #2 TE with the Giants a few years back. The Patriots certainly could use an upgrade at the position behind Gronk.

Given that NE is third in line for Ebron, I don’t think he makes it to NE before signing a contract. Ebron hasn’t really amounted to much over his career and you can’t blame bad QB play since he’s only had Matthew Stafford as his QB. The scheduled visit with New England could also be a marketing ploy by Ebron and his agent to put pressure on Carolina and Indianapolis to sign him to the deal he wants. I don’t think the Patriots are too overly interested otherwise they would have been more proactive in bringing him in sooner like with Clayborn.