Here’s What Dalton Keene Move To IR Means For Patriots Player

Dalton Keene joined the New England Patriots with one simple goal. He wants to win a championship. But, things don’t look too good for the Patriots tight end right now.

The team placed the second-year tight end on injured reserve. His season was brought to an end before the first preseason game against the Washington Football Team.

Keene is on the injured reserve list now and he will be ineligible to play in the regular season. Yes, he can still play in 2021 but the Patriots should release him with an injury settlement giving him a chance to ink a deal with another team.

Dalton Keene to leave enough room for other Patriots tight ends

Players who end up on injured reserve during the season can return after sitting out at least three games.

Keene had to undergo a knee surgery to fix his health problem. NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport confirmed the information.

The #Patriots placed TE Dalton Keene on Injured Reserve today, ending his 2021 season. He recently underwent knee surgery, similar to the meniscus procedure he had in college. Keene should have plenty of time to make a full recovery for 2022.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 7, 2021

The team selected him in the third round of the NFL draft out of Virginia Tech. the tight end saw action in just ten games as a rookie player last season. He caught three passes on five targets for 16 yards. Keene was considered a long shot to make the Patriots active roster in the summer.

The Patriots packed their tight end unit in free agency. Head coach Bill Belichick signed Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. He pushed Keene, Devin Asiasi, and Matt LaCosse to the roster bubble. Keene, Asiasi, and Ryan Izzo combined for the fewest receptions by any tight end unit in 2020. They totaled just 18.

There was too much offseason speculation suggesting the tight end may shift into more of a fullback/H-back role in second season. Many thought he would push Jakob Johnson off the active roster. Well, this injury stopped him from taking part in training camp practice.

The Patriots put linebacker Raekwon McMillan on injured reserve on Saturday and inked linebacker Cassh Maluia.

Belichick is confident about his current roster, and he will make a few more changes before the start of the regular season. Who is the first to go?