FOXBOROUGH – As the Patriots continue the offseason workout portion of the calendar, veteran tight end Austin Hooper met with the media on Tuesday afternoon.
Hooper re-signed with New England on a one-year, $5 million dollar deal that could be worth up to $7 million.
Both Hooper and fellow veteran Hunter Henry built a good rapport with Drake Maye. Hooper explained that playing with the now second-year QB was a big factor in his decision to come back, among other things.
“I made a tremendous group of teammates,” he said. “Playing with a young, talented guy like Drake. I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t part of the equation. Also, sharing a tight end room with Hunter Henry, a guy who’s the same draft class as me, a guy who we have a very good woking relationship together.
“Once the organization extended me the opportunity, it was pretty simple.”
Hooper also has plenty of familiarity with Josh McDaniels’ offense, having been part of it during his time in Las Vegas. While there’s still some acclimation that needs to take place, Hooper says it’s starting to come back to him as things get rolling heading into minicamp next month.
“Having been in it before…it’s been a couple seasons now since I was in it. It’s starting to come back to me,” Hooper said. “It’s like if you learn a little bit of a new language when you were younger, or all of the sudden you take it in high school, Spanish class…you’re like ‘oh, ok, it’s coming back to me.’ It’s kind of the same idea I suppose. I mean, second time going through it, instead of just understanding where to line up and what to do, you can actually kind of understand the details more. Understand the why. Phase one is just knowing what you’ve gotta do. Phase two is knowing what people around you are doing.
“While I’m not there yet, some stuff, I’m getting there.”
Stefon Diggs has quickly established a new level of professionalism in the locker room that simply wasn’t there last season. Having a guy like Diggs around isn’t just good for the receivers, but all veterans and rookies alike to see the type of work ethic a (YEAR) veteran still puts in, particularly coming off a major injury like the one he suffered in 2024.
Hooper’s been wow’d but what he’s seen.
“Energy, man. He’s a freak,” he added. “I know he just came off what he came off of and you can see him already with the explosion, the change of direction, the top end…it’s like ‘dang dude, must be nice.’ You know what I mean?
“So, I’m really excited to work with a proven veteran, a good player in this league.”