The week leading up to NFL free agency is the time of year teams get their rosters in order to begin building for the season ahead. That process often includes ‘cap casualties’ – players on exuberant contracts getting released to free up salary cap space. This year has seen a number of cap casualty cuts already, with the Titans, Buccaneers, and Rams highlighting the teams that have aggressively been shedding contracts.

So far, the Patriots have not made any significant cap-saving cuts this offseason. Their one big cut, quarterback Brian Hoyer, actually may result in them losing cap space depending on when the move is process and if/when Hoyer signs with another team. There’s no need for urgency in opening up any cap space, as the Patriots are projected to be top 10 in salary cap space when the new league year begins next week. Still, if the team felt such a move was necessary, players like Trent Brown and DeVante Parker have been suggested as those who the they could part ways with.

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• One name that hasn’t been brought up in that conversation is tight end Hunter Henry. That made a report from Jordan Schultz of The Score over the weekend all the more puzzling.

  “Patriots are not expected to release TE Hunter Henry,” Schultz tweeted on Sunday night. “The team values him as a player and as a leader, while new OC Bill O’Brien plans to better maximize his pass-catching ability.”

  While it’s certainly not a bad update, it’s one that likely caught many Patriots fans off guard as cutting Henry didn’t seem to be expected. It’s not that the move wouldn’t help them financially, but the overall result wouldn’t be worth it.

  The team would save just over $10 million if they part ways with the 29-year-old, but such a move would create more problems than it would solve. Suddenly, the tight end position would become an immediate need, similar to what happened with the guard position last year after the Patriots traded Shaq Mason. Either a significant chunk of that $10 million or a premium draft pick would have to go towards re-filling that spot on the depth chart.

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  FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 06: Hunter Henry #85 of the New England Patriots carries the ball after a catch against the Indianapolis Colts during the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium on November 06, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)

• On the flip side, the Patriots could open up nearly $7 million in salary cap space by extending Henry’s contract as he enters the final year of his deal. While Henry hasn’t quite lived up to the three-year, $37.5 million contract he signed in March 2021 he hasn’t been entirely unproductive either. At 29 years old, getting him on a more favorable contract for another year or two would make some sense.

  The other option could be for the Patriots to use Henry’s final year as a bridge year, and use this year’s draft – which has an incredibly deep tight end class – to find his replacement. The Combine showed just how much potential exists in this class, and high-upside project players like Zack Kuntz, Payne Durham, and Will Mallory should be available on Day 3. The Patriots could take a player like that to capitalize on this class, have that player develop behind Henry this year, then let Henry walk and move the draft pick into the starting role next year.

  And for those wondering where the Patriots’ other tight end fits into this? Not only would cutting Jonnu Smith prior to June 1 leave $19 million in dead cap space, it would also come at a cap hit of nearly $2 million. The numbers become a little more favorable after June 1, but the Patriots won’t be able to get Smith off the books for free agency.

• Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].

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