Patriots trade tight end Ryan Izzo to the Texans for 2022 seventh-round draft pick

Update 3/18/2021: Patriots trade tight end Ryan Izzo to the Texans for 2022 seventh-round draft pick

The seventh-round draft pick that will be exchanged between the Texans and Patriots as part of the Ryan Izzo trade will be added to New England’s 2022 draft capital, as confirmed by the NFL transactions wire. The Patriots will therefore have two seventh-rounders that year after also obtaining one in the Trent Brown trade with the Raiders (one that saw New England send its own 2022 fifth-rounder away).

Original story 3/18/2021: Patriots trade tight end Ryan Izzo to the Texans for reported seventh-round draft pick

The New England Patriots have already made two trades last week, and it seems that they are not done. As first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, New England is sending tight end Ryan Izzo to the Houston Texans in exchange for a seventh-round draft choice.

With the Patriots having signed Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry to high-end free agency deals, and with former third-round selections Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene on the roster as well, the writing was on the wall for Izzo’s tenure to find an end. It did, but not without the team getting something in return for him.

Izzo first arrived in New England as a seventh-round selection in the 2018 draft, getting picked 250th overall. While he missed his entire rookie season due to injury, he was able to make the roster the following year and ended up playing in six games while serving primarily in a blocking role. Along the way, Izzo caught six passes for 114 yards and a touchdown.

He saw his workload increase the following season, and spent most of 2020 as the Patriots’ number one tight end ahead of Asiasi and Keene. In this role, he appeared in 12 games and caught 13 passes for 199 yards before being placed on injured reserve in mid-December.

With Izzo gone, the Patriots now have five tight ends under contract: Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry are the top two options on the depth chart, with Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene as developmental depth options behind them. Matt LaCosse is also part of the group, but has to be considered a long-shot after two quiet seasons in New England.

Before trading Izzo, the Patriots had previously made two similar moves this offseason. They re-acquired Trent Brown from the Las Vegas Raiders last week and sent fellow offensive tackle Marcus Cannon to the Texans.