New England Patriots Sign Veteran Tight End Bo Scaife

The New England Patriots announced Thursday morning the signing of veteran tight end Bo Scaife, adding depth to an already well-stocked position.

Scaife spent the 2011 season with the Cincinnati Bengals, however he recorded no statistics. Previously, he was a productive player for the Tennessee Titans over the first six years of his career, in which he had 251 receptions and 12 touchdowns.

At times, he seemed to be one of then-Titans quarterback Vince Young's favorite options, dating back to their days together at the University of Texas.

The mentioned depth at tight end makes this move a bit interesting. The Patriots now hold five tight ends with Scaife, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells and Brad Herman.

As reported by Christopher Price of WEEI.com, Fells was again absent from organized team activities (OTAs) Thursday morning, making it the third straight week he has missed, which could explain the addition of Scaife to the roster. If the teams feels that Fells' availability could be affected long-term, the Patriots could just be making sure they do not need to rely on an undrafted rookie as their third option at tight end.

At this point, it seems obvious that after having no third tight end off and on last season, they want a steady presence there this season in case either of their two stars at the position goes down.

They have made that clear with the signing of Fells and Scaife and their flirtation with a former Colts nemesis in Dallas Clark, as reported by Field Yates of ESPNBoston.com.

If Fells' health does not end up being an issue, this move will likely be rendered irrelevant, barring a monster training camp from Scaife.