What signing Mitchell Wilcox before the draft means for the Patriots
The New England Patriots started the week of the NFL Draft by bolstering their tight end depth. On Monday, the team signed veteran free agent Mitchell Wilcox to its 90-man offseason roster.
Wilcox, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2021, spent the last three seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. A rotational tight end option and special teamer, he saw action in 55 total contests and caught 31 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown.
What will the 27-year-old bring to his new team, though? Let’s take a look at the transaction to find out what it means for the Patriots from a big-picture perspective.
Tight end remains a low-level need
With Wilcox in the fold, the Patriots now have four tight ends under contract. Hunter Henry, who signed a three-year contract extension earlier this offseason, is the starting option, with free agency pickup Austin Hooper as the No. 2 alongside him. Wilcox and La’Michael Pettway will compete for the third spot on the depth chart, with neither one guaranteed to earn what might be the final position on the roster.
Henry and Hooper are locks to make the team, while the fate of the other two might also depend on the upcoming draft. The Patriots, after all, remain in the market to add some developmental talent at the position considering the overall composition of the group: Hooper, Wilcox and Pettway are all veterans and — presumably, in Wilcox’s case — only under contract through 2024.
Luckily for the Patriots, there are plenty of intriguing tight end prospects available on the second and third days of the draft.
Wilcox offers experience as a blocker, special teamer
Wilcox himself was a rotational option during his time in Cincinnati, playing more snaps on special teams (913) than offense (899) over the last three years. His contributions to the Bengals offense mostly were of the blocking nature and he was asked to run routes only 39.9 percent of the time.
He primarily was an off-ball move option on run plays, aligning inline and only occasionally being sent to the slot or the backfield. The belief is that New England might use him in a similar capacity, which in turn would limit his contributions as a receiver despite his solid 6-foot-4, 250-pound frame.
When it comes to the kicking game, Wilcox has experience on five units. He played on kickoff and punt coverage, both return teams, and the field goal and extra point protection team. He also has special teams six tackles to his name.
New England’s salary cap will not feel his impact too much
The details of Wilcox’s contract are not yet available. The fact that he remained on the open market more than a month into free agency suggests that he has signed a lower-level deal, though.
The minimum salary for a player of his experience — he has three credited seasons on his NFL résumé — stands at $1.055 million, and it would not be a surprise if he ended up signing for a number close to that one. On top of whatever his salary eventually will be, additional signing or workout bonuses would also factor into the mix when it comes to his salary cap impact.
It will not be substantial, but New England’s cap space will decrease. His minimum salary number alone would qualify him as one of the Patriots’ 51 most expensive contracts, meaning that he would count against their cap even during the offseason.
The Patriots have 19 open roster spots ahead of the draft
With Wilcox now in the fold, the Patriots have 71 players under contract. This leaves them with 19 open spots heading into draft weekend. At the moment, eight of those would go to draft picks with the other 11 reserved for rookie free agents.
Of course, any trades might still change those numbers.
