On Monday, the New England Patriots created an open spot on their 53-man roster by placing fullback Jakob Johnson on injured reserve because of a shoulder injury. The expectation at the time was that it would be used to re-sign Benjamin Watson — an experienced player that would help bolster the depth at the tight end position with Matt LaCosse rehabbing from a knee injury suffered during last Thursday’s game.
The Patriots will indeed use Johnson’s former roster spot on a tight end but it looks like the player in question will not be Watson, at least for now: according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, New England will sign free agent Eric Tomlinson.