Patriots’ Hunter Henry reaches milestones in ninth NFL season

Three games remain for the New England Patriots. Expect Hunter Henry to make them count.

The veteran tight end has 635 receiving yards in the regular season. At age 30, he’s also just 18 away from resetting his 2019 career with the Los Angeles Chargers. The next chance to get there comes at Highmark Stadium.

Sunday’s flexed kickoff against the Buffalo Bills is set for 4:25 PM ET.

“Obviously we play these guys two of the last three weeks. It’s a divisional game,” Henry told reporters from the AFC East champions during his Wednesday press conference. “You’ve got to go on the road. I mean, it’s a great environment. Buffalo is a great place to play. A tremendously talented football team. I mean, they’re obviously playing well this year. It’s a tough challenge, so you’ve got to be excited the challenge.”

Every game has been a challenge for a 3-11 team. But the captain at tight end has continued to be an answer from September into December. Last week, Henry brought himself to 62 catches on the year, eclipsing a mark that stood since his last tour with the organization that drafted him.

“Yeah, it’s always good to get a milestone,” said the 6-foot, 249-pound Henry. “It’s been a while since I feel like I had it. I feel like it was like my fourth or fifth year. So yes, it’s always good to have a new milestone. It’s also something to chase for next year. Hopefully I can keep stacking and stacking it a little bit higher so I have even more to achieve.”

The former John Mackey Award winner entered the NFL in the second round at pick No. 35 total back in 2016. And when free agency opened in 2021, he came from Los Angeles to Foxborough on a three-year, $37.5 million contract. A three-year, $27 million extension kept him there before the start of legal tampering around the league last March.

Henry’s run with the Patriots has included 2,166 yards and 18 touchdowns through the air. Through 62 games, he has amassed 195 catches. Only four tight ends in franchise history accumulated more during their tenure. After recently surpassing the 184 posted by Ben Watson, only Russ Francis’ 207, Marv Cook’s 210, Ben Coates’ 490 and Rob Gronkowski’s 521 lead the standings, as of Stathead.com.

The University of Arkansas product has not been kept off the stat sheet in 17 consecutive appearances dating back to last winter.

“I take a lot of pride in just trying to be consistent,” Henry added. “Go out there and be the same guy week in and week out, be available and play for this team when I can. Obviously those guys did it for a long time and had a lot of success. Guys that I’ve seen and had a lot of success. So it means a lot just to be mentioned in those names because they are all great players.”

Henry caught nine touchdowns during his first season with New England. And while his last visit to the end zone came in October during rookie quarterback Drake Maye’s first NFL start, he leads the passing game in targets, receptions, receiving yards and first downs.