Report: Patriots Work Out Three Potential Fullback Replacements

The New England Patriots worked out a group of free agent kickers. The next day, they targeted fullbacks. Jakob Johnson joined James Develin on injured reserve this week, so the Patriots decided to host tight end/fullback Orson Charles, fullback Ricky Ortiz and running back/fullback George Aston for workouts as confirmed by ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Charles, 28, has more experience than Ortiz and Aston. He made several stops in the league since being a fourth-round pick in 2012. Charles played with the Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns. He spent the end of the 2019 preseason with the Denver Broncos, and the team released him during the final roster trimmings.

In 2018, Ortiz was the primary fullback for the Atlanta Falcons. He appeared in 12 games with nine starts after spending most of his rookie season on the Baltimore Ravens’ practice unit. The Falcons released him with an injury settlement in September.

Aston is an undrafted rookie out of Pitt. He spent some time with Charles in Denver this summer, and many thought that he would make the Broncos’ active roster. Their starting fullback Andy Janovich was injured in the preseason, but the Broncos didn’t want Aston as a replacement.

“ to see if he’s worthy of fulfilling that role, and obviously he’ll get some reps here these next few weeks and we’ll have a decision to make once we get down to 53,” coach Vic Fangio said after one of their practices.

“He’s been a surprise guy coming as an undrafted free agent,” Fangio said. “There aren’t many fullbacks out there these days in college or pro football, so there’s not an abundance of them. I think he’s had a nice catch and run after the catch the other night. He’s got a chance.”

Well, they didn’t want to give him a chance, and Aston is working out with the Pats.

New England plays the New York Jets on Monday, and it will be a game you don’t want to miss. The Patriots are ready for whatever change their players need, and we believe that coach Belichick has a few more ideas on his mind.

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