He hasnt signed with them yet, but this is pretty bizarre that he would want to sign with them, and that theyd want to pay him. Im not really sure what to make of this since Shiancoe could get a good number of snaps on most teams, and possibly it has something to do with Gronks injurys/surgery/behavior Eitherway its definitely odd and Updated he signed
Probably just a cheap way to let Gronk know that even though he is a beast there is always someone waiting for your job. I would imagine they are a bit concerned about how he has handled himself since late last year.
why the hell would he go there? He is at best TE #3 and will never see the field except in the case of an injury problem.
Ballard had a great season by rookie TE standards and Reese was a total moron for trying to be sneaky with him. The fact that 30 other teams "play nice" while NE does whatever they can to get ahead just supports why no other team has been as consistently good over the past decade.
I'm pretty sure it isn't related to Gronk's injury. They reported yesterday that he is supposed to be ready to start practicing when camp opens on Thursday (http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/s...d-on-pup-list-rob-gronkowski-appears-healthy/). I honestly don't think it is behavior related either. I'm sure that all the attention he has been getting, and seeking, has made the front office a little bit uneasy, but he hasn't really done anything over the top, and they didn't seem too worried when they offered him a long term contract. I think this just comes down to the fact that we have realized how important the TE position has become to our offense, and we aren't willing to play any length of time without quality depth at the position. It might seem bizarre since we have two good players in Fells & Ballard behind Gronk & Hernandez, but Ballard won't be contributing this year, and it seems like Fells could still be a ways off from playing too. It could also be related to the transition of Hernandez to more of a WR type role, which many people have been predicting.
Its still an incredibly bizarre move for Shiancoe. He could be one of the better #2 receiving tight ends in the league, and probably find a starting gig on a decent # of teams. Instead he went somewhere where barring something significant to a major player (ie gronk or Hernandez) that he will rarely see the field. And Hernandez playing a heavier WR role doesnt really make much sense either, considering the depth the patriots have @ WR has improved tremendously. Unless hes their plan to replace Welker or something
Soon the Pats will have 52 TEs on their roster and Tom Brady. And it will probably work too -- damn Belichick.
It's not because of Gronk's injury (he's not on PUP) or to send him a message... Hernandez is going to be lining up at WR probably upwards of 65% this season. There was an article about a month ago where the question was whether or not Hernandez's agent would ask for the WR tag instead of the TE tag after his contract is up, since it's nearly twice as much money. Some researchers determined that Hernandez lined up more as a WR (around 61% of the time, IIRC). I would expect that trend to continue. In addition to that, Hernandez has been a little less durable than the Patriots would like. Daniel Fells has health issues right now. I'm not sure if he's going to be on the team but it would not be too unusual to see them carry 4 TEs given their offense. Jake Ballard, though a nice pick-up, isn't going to play until 2013. I agree it's a little bit odd for Shiancoe to want to come to a team that has two very established, very good TEs, but they probably told him that he would see the field plenty, and that Hernandez's versatility would allow them to use him pretty often. And, going by the book, you can't actually line up all TEs in receiver spots... I mean, personnel wise you can, but technically that's a TE lining up in a WR's spot (far as where they have to be relative to the LOS, motion, etc). I don't think there's much room for creative formations with this. It's more just depth.
Ballard is PUP and may have to be IR'd. Fells is on the PUP, Gronk is coming off surgery. The only completely healthy TE is Hernandez, and he's not really a conventional TE.
I'm guessing if he had been given a decent contract by some team that he knew he could start for he would have. There obviously wasn't a tidal wave of teams trying to sign him.
Its all a guessing game and dudes are chasing the ring basically and hope they land in the right spot at the right time
