While the majority of the Patriots’ early activity in free agency has been with their own guys, New England added an outside depth piece on Tuesday night.

Ian Rapoport reported that Austin Hooper was joining the team on a one-year deal. We later found out from Mike Reiss that it’s a base salary of just $3 million with the opportunity for Hooper to make a max of $4.25 million.

Hooper was a third round draft pick in the 2016 draft (81st overall) and spent the first four years of his career in Atlanta. He had a touchdown grab in the 28-3 Super Bowl and appeared to be turning into one of the elite tight ends in the game during his time there. Hooper spent two years in Cleveland before going to Tennessee and Las Vegas in the last two years. In 2018 and 2019 Hooper had his best seasons when he made the Pro Bowl in both campaigns and caught 71 and 75 balls respectively. Hooper had 10 total TD’s those two years including six in 2019.

Hooper also worked with new OC Alex Van Pelt during his time in Cleveland, catching 46 and 38 passes and seven total TD’s in those two years. Last season with the Raiders, Hooper only had 25 catches for 234 yards and no touchdowns while starting only nine games, which probably explains his lack of market.

This is another no-brainer deal for the Patriots. Not only is it a low-risk, low-money, little-commitment agreement, but Hooper is another good culture fit and provides some solid, experienced depth behind Hunter Henry. In a normal, functional NFL offense, you could do a lot worse in the red zone than Henry and Hooper as two of your targets. This would also be a good tight end room to draft a rookie into as well, something most people believe New England will do at some point during the 2024 draft.

The Patriots still need a big name or two up front and at receiver when free agency officially opens, but the Hooper signing is another smart one by Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo.