Patriots swap tight ends at bottom of depth chart

The New England Patriots made a few roster moves Tuesday, mainly focused on the tight end position.

As was officially announced by the team as part of Tuesday's NFL transactions, the Patriots have signed tight end Marshall Lang to the practice squad. In a corresponding move, they released fellow TE Gee Scott Jr.

Lang, 23, originally came into the league as an undrafted rookie free agent with the Seattle Seahawks. He played college ball at Northwestern, where he played 51 games, 47 of which over his final four seasons. Lang totaled 48 catches for 491 yards and four touchdowns as a pass-catcher. Scott, meanwhile, spent much of training camp with the Patriots, and re-signed to the practice squad on Sept. 24 after he could not survive final roster cuts.

The Patriots announced that they've also released defensive back Tyron Herring from the practice squad. This gives them one open spot each on both the 53-man roster and p-squad (via Mike Reiss). That could (should?) fuel trade speculation, as big-name pass-rushers are reportedly on the block and the Pats have won three in a row while taking over first place in the AFC East.

New England isn't exactly hurting for tight end production, as Hunter Henry has racked up three touchdowns over his last four games. But they lack a consistently dependable option for an in-line blocker at tight end, which offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels could certainly use, considering how often he deploys two TEs on the field.

Lang doesn't necessarily fill that need, but it would behoove the Patriots to land on a player that can. And even without that, they should still be looking for potential long-term pieces at the position.