New England Patriots: The saga at tight end continues

So who will be the main man at tight end for the New England Patriots in the 2019 season? It’s a question with many layers these days.

It was arguably the highest moment that day for the New England Patriots in what proved to be the lowest-scoring contest in the 53-year history of the Super Bowl. The club’s 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams at Atlanta featured just one touchdown in 60 minutes of play. That came courtesy of Patriots’ running back Sony Michel, who plunged in from the two-yard line with seven minutes to play in Super Bowl LIII.

But that score was set up on the previous play by a 29-yard connection from quarterback Tom Brady to tight end Rob Gronkowski. Yes, wide receiver Julian Edelman wound up earning game MVP honors. But it was the nine-year pro’s clutch catch (the longest play from scrimmage in the game) that was perhaps the game’s most memorable moment.

Of course, Gronk has decided to hang it up and reiterated recently that he was indeed done playing football. This offseason, there’s been a lot of discussion as to who would fill the cleats of the prolific target. And as the weeks go by, there have been more twists and turns to the story than a Barry Sanders’ run.

The latest news comes with the anticipated release of Austin Seferian-Jenkins, via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He was one of three free-agent veteran tight ends to join the Patriots this offseason.

One was Matt LaCosse, who caught 24 passes for 250 yards and one touchdown for the Denver Broncos this past season. The other was 38-year-old Benjamin Watson, but it was recently discovered that the veteran performer — who began his career in Foxborough — would be serving a four-game suspension (performance-enhancing substances) to start the season.

Now comes the news of Seferian-Jenkins being cut loose. So who exactly will be the team’s starting tight end when the team takes the field on Sunday night at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1?

Along with Watson and LaCosse, the current depth chart also includes 2018 seventh-round pick Ryan Izzo, Stephen Anderson, Jakob Johnson and Andrew Beck. Or does Bill Belichick and the team have an alternate plan? There’s a long time between now and training camp.