Patriots sign Kellen Winslow
It took fewer than 48 hours for the New England Patriots to replace injured tight end Aaron Hernandez. According to sources, the Patriots have agreed to a one-year contract with former Pro Bowl tight end Kellen Winslow Jr.
It is no surprise the Patriots had interest in Winslow. New England brought him in for a visit two weeks ago and kept Winslow on the team's short list.
Hernandez suffered a right ankle injury in Sunday's loss to the Arizona Cardinals and is expected to miss at least a month, sources told ESPN on Monday.
When Winslow visited the Patriots it was rumored that he failed his physical, then it was reported that he didn't. Either way, the Patriots signed the Hoo-Man instead. Hoomanawanui wasn't cutting it on Sunday when Hernandez's injury suddenly thrust him into a bigger role.
Winslow was one of the top tight end talents in the league, he can block and catch. He's no Aaron Hernandez, but he allows the Patriots go back to their two and three tight end sets that they loved so much in Week 1. When Hernandez went down against Arizona, the Patriots used more three wide receiver sets and we saw how well that worked out for them.
Essentially this was a signing the Patriots had to make because they had built their whole offense around having at least two tight ends on the field. Visanthe Shiancoe is set to return in Week 10 from the temporary IR and Daniel Fells has yet to appear in a game for the Patriots.
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