Bedard: With few free agents, Patriots may have to get creative to upgrade TE position

As we get closer to NFL free agency on March 18, we'll go through the Patriots' biggest positions of need and go over some of the options available via trade and free agency. We'll also lay out some of the landscape across the NFL that may or may not complicate the situation for the Patriots.

We looked at quarterbacks who aren't looking for a major contract here. Here's part two, the tight ends.

NFL LANDSCAPE

Simply put, as the Patriots this past season can attest, there aren't that many good tight ends in the league in general, and even less are easily acquired.

When it comes to free agents, Hunter Henry (Chargers), Austin Hooper (Falcons), and Eric Ebron (Colts) are about it.

The Chargers have plenty of cap space ($48 million) to franchise tag Henry if they want to. Yes, he's had a lot of injuries, but a tag and then an extension would be the prudent thing for the Chargers to do.

The Falcons ($5 million) don't have any cap space but can create some more. Factoring in durability, Hooper might be the best tight end available. He's one of the best two-way tight ends in the game and would fit the Patriots perfectly. But will he be available? Thomas Dimitroff is no idiot. He knew where his cap situation was at the trade deadline. If he knew he couldn't tag Hooper, he would have just traded him at the deadline for something more than his eventual compensatory pick (third round).

The Patriots would have to be fairly desperate — and they are — to go after Ebron, who is mostly just a pass catcher and the Patriots need more at the position. Plus, the Colts, who aren't totally solid at tight end, don't even want Ebron back. There is also a lot of doubt about whether or not Ebron could handle the Patriots' offense. But, the Patriots cupboard is just that barren.

Beyond that, there's not much available in free agency. The bigger problem for the Patriots is that there are several teams looking for tight ends who have more cap space than the Patriots:

Dolphins: $89.4 million
Cowboys: $76.8 million
Texans: $64.3 million
Browns: $61.9 million
Redskins: $53 million
Jets: $49.7 million

So if Henry and Hooper become available, they are going to get big offers. If both are tagged, Ebron could get overpaid.

OTHER FREE-AGENT OPTIONS

Tyler Eifert, Bengals: Once upon a time, Eifert (30) would have been the biggest name available. But then a rash of injuries (elbow, back, leg) kept him off the field and sapped him of his athleticism. I watched some film of him ... there's no explosion down the field. He's purely a possession guy, very similar to Ben Watson this past season. Plus, Eifert is not much of a blocker.

MyCole Pruitt, Titans: Has some promise (28), but only as a flex TE due to his size (6-2, 245). Patriots need a Y TE.

POSSIBLE TRADES

Gerald Everett/Tyler Higbee, Rams: Los Angeles is one of those teams that don't have much cap space. It signed Higbee — who had a career-high 69 catches last season — to a contract extension last year. The Rams would save about $4 million on the cap by trading him, and Higbee, 27, doesn't have a salary higher than $6.25 million through 2023 (but he'll receive $8 million in cash this year thanks to a roster bonus).

Everett, 25, is in the final year of his rookie contract and he's starting to come into his prime. With Higbee likely not going anywhere, maybe Everett, who had 37 catches last year, could be available for a draft pick.

Cameron Brate/O.J. Howard, Bucs: Brate has always had talent, but he gets hurt a lot — his playing time has slipped the last three seasons. If the Patriots think he can be better utilized in their offense, then his salary at $6 million per season would be a bargain. His yards per reception slipped almost 3 yards last season.

Howard, a 2017 first-round pick, is entering the final year of his rookie deal and an acquiring team could kick in his fifth-year option and have an additional year of control with the franchise tag. He only had 34 catches last year at 13.5 yards per catch, despite seeing his playing time skyrocket.

The underrated aspect here is Bruce Arians doesn't really use tight ends in his offense so this could be a team that is begging to be plucked.

DRAFT OPTIONS

I'm sorry, but this is a good draft for tight ends even if there aren't "high-end options." We'll get into them more after free agency, but I touched on a few that were on the field at the Senior Bowl.