FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Sometimes when the New England Patriots sign an under-the-radar player, like they did Wednesday with tight end Troy Niklas, it produces unexpected results. Malcolm Butler (2014) and Dion Lewis (2015) are two examples that fall into that category.
Other times, the results aren’t as notable, and players brought in for depth purposes at a time when the roster is at 90 players don’t even make the cut.
Time will tell where the 6-foot-6, 270-pound Niklas falls, but as a player who was noted as a possible Patriots target before the 2014 draft, the idea was to take a closer look at what he might bring to the club.