Almost-Patriots tight end Michael Roberts has found a new home

Last Thursday, the New England Patriots announced a new addition to their tight end group: the team acquired Michael Roberts from the Detroit Lions for a conditional seventh-round selection in the 2020 NFL draft. A rotational player that caught just 13 passes for 146 yards and 3 touchdowns in his two seasons in Detroit, Roberts was expected to bring decent size and skill as a potential red zone target to the table.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Just one day after the trade was made official by both clubs involved, it fell apart again: Roberts reverted back to the Lions’ roster after reportedly failing his physical in New England — the 25-year-old, of course, had ended the 2018 season on injured reserve after hurting his shoulder in December. It is entirely possible that the same issue may have caused him to flunk his physical examination.

Right after he returned to Detroit, the team released Roberts. Now, he has found a new home: the Green Bay Packers picked him off the waiver wire to fill the open 90th spot on their roster; the move was made official on Monday. Apparently, Green Bay was not worried about the Patriots sending the tight end back to the Lions after his physical — and why would the Packers be? As opposed to New England, they are not giving up anything of value to acquire Roberts.

The reigning world champions, meanwhile, will continue to move forward with a tight end depth chart consisting of offseason acquisitions Matt LaCosse, Benjamin Watson and Andrew Beck, and second-year Patriots Ryan Izzo and Stephen Anderson. Don’t be surprised if New England adds another player to this group — one that neo-Packer Roberts never turned out to be.