The Patriots spent Monday morning adding some insurance at tight end after their 20-3 win over the Steelers left the room thinner than they wanted.
According to the NFL transaction wire, New England brought in four free agents for workouts at Gillette Stadium: Devin Culp, Tanner Conner, Lance Mason and Patrick Murtagh.
Culp is the most recent draft pick of the group. Tampa Bay took him in the seventh round of the 2024 draft with the No. 246 overall selection, and the Washington product has already logged 18 career games.
The 26-year-old ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and has six catches for 94 yards and a touchdown in his time with the Buccaneers. At 6-foot-3 and 237 pounds, he has also handled special teams work, with 97 snaps on offense and 160 on special teams.
Conner brings the most NFL experience. The 28-year-old entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and made Miami’s 53-man roster as a rookie.
The Idaho State alum went on to play in 33 games with the Dolphins, then finished 2025 on the Giants’ practice squad before being released from his futures contract at last month’s league cutdown deadline. In his career, he has one start, 12 catches for 107 yards, 251 offensive snaps and 413 snaps on special teams.
Mason is the youngest name in the group at 23. He went undrafted in 2026 after transferring from Missouri State to Wisconsin, where he put together a senior season that included 30 catches, 398 yards and four touchdowns and earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. The 6-foot-3, 243-pound rookie spent spring and summer with Seattle, was claimed off waivers by Pittsburgh during training camp, and then was part of the Steelers’ cutdown at the end of August.
Murtagh’s path has been different from the others. He joined the NFL International Player Pathway in 2023 after coming from Australian rules football, and the 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end first landed with the Lions that May. He spent 2024 on injured reserve with Jacksonville after being waived with an injury designation, then last season stayed on Denver’s practice squad as an exempt player before his contract expired in February.
The Patriots’ need for bodies at the position became more obvious when No. 95 overall pick Eli Raridon left Sunday’s game in the second quarter with a thigh injury and did not return. Tanner Arkin was inactive 90 minutes before kickoff, leaving Hunter Henry and waiver claim Cameron Latu to carry the depth chart.
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