Hunter Henry Just Got Paid. Eli Raridon Is Still Making Him Work For Reps.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Hunter Henry signed his extension a week and a half ago. That does not mean training camp has gotten any easier.

The Patriots locked up their veteran tight end on a two-year deal with a $16 million base value that can climb to $20 million, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, who cited sources including NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Henry was entering the final year of his previous contract when he put pen to paper. The move locks in the 31-year-old through what would be his 12th NFL season, and it came off a 2025 campaign in which he caught 60 passes for 768 yards and seven touchdowns — both career highs.

None of that has slowed down Eli Raridon.

New England used the No. 95 pick in April’s draft on the Notre Dame product, and three weeks into camp, he has done more than just show up. Third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito found Raridon for a touchdown during Tuesday’s joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts, part of a training camp stretch in which the rookie has kept popping up in scoring plays and two-minute drills.

According to the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan, Raridon has drawn more first-team reps than Henry in stretches of camp — a notable wrinkle given Henry’s standing as the presumptive starter. Callahan’s reporting frames it as more separation and route-winning than any depth-chart demotion, crediting the rookie for creating room at the top of his routes against tighter coverage. Note: This specific Herald report could not be independently re-verified via direct link access at publication time; treat the framing above as attributed reporting, not confirmed fact, pending further corroboration.

Other camp coverage from Tuesday’s session tells a more balanced story. A joint-practice notebook from SI’s Patriots site noted Henry caught four passes — second-most on the team — including a seam connection with Drake Maye for the day’s first chunk play, working reps with both the first- and second-string offense. Raridon also finished with four grabs of his own, mixing in work with backup quarterbacks.

The two have not exactly been rivals about it. Raridon has repeatedly credited Henry as a mentor rather than a competitor. “I really couldn’t have asked for a better veteran,” Raridon told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak and Bertrand. “He’s kind of an on-field coach for me as well, he’s been playing this game for so long.” Henry has returned the compliment, telling reporters Raridon has “a bright future ahead of him,” according to NESN’s camp coverage.

Why is a third-round rookie pushing an extension-signer for early-camp reps at all? Part of it traces back to a roster hole nobody planned for. New England signed Julian Hill in free agency to be the room’s blocking complement to Henry, but Hill tore his ACL in spring practice and will miss the 2026 season. That injury pushed Raridon into competition for real snaps months ahead of schedule, alongside undrafted rookie Tanner Arkin, Jack Westover and C.J. Dippre.

There is also a simple coaching-staff logic to spreading reps around a young player still learning the verbiage. Henry is entering his sixth season in New England’s building; Raridon is three weeks into his first NFL camp. Getting him game-planning snaps now, with pads on and against another team’s defense in Tuesday’s joint session, tells the staff more about where he stands than another rep with a familiar vet.

Henry is still New England’s starting tight end. Nothing in camp reporting suggests otherwise, and offensive coordinators do not bench a $20 million extension signee over August practice reps. But the room now has real competition behind him for the first time in years, and how Raridon handles more physical, regular-season-style coverage remains the open question as camp winds down.

The Patriots close the book on practice-only evaluation Thursday night, when they host the Colts at Gillette Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET to open the preseason — New England’s first live look at how this tight end room performs when the reps count.