Patriots reportedly sign former Harvard star tight end Anthony Firkser
FOXBORO -- The Patriots are adding to their tight end room, reportedly signing five-year veteran Anthony Firkser.
ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss was first to report the signing. Firkser will battle for the third tight end spot on the New England roster behind Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki.
New Englanders may recognize Firkser's name, as he was a three-year letter winner at Harvard. With the Crimson, Firkser was named to the All-Ivy League second team in 2014 and 2015 and the All-Ivy League first team in 2016. He finished his collegiate career tied for sixth in Harvard school history with 14 touchdowns over his 29 games played.
Firkser went undrafted in 2017 and initially signed with the New York Jets, but was waived before the start of the season. He was signed to the Kansas City practice squad, but was released the following April.
That is when Firkser landed on the Titans, and he went on to play four seasons in Tennessee. In his 58 games for the Titans, Firkser hauled in 115 receptions for 1,207 yards and five touchdowns. He also had two touchdowns during the playoffs in 2019, including a TD grab against the New England at Gillette Stadium when the Titans upset the Pats in the Wild Card round.
After his contract ran out in Tennessee, Firkser was signed by the Atlanta Falcons. He played in 11 games for Atlanta in 2022 but didn't factor much into the Falcons offense, catching nine of the 13 passes that went his way for 100 yards.
The 28-year-old is a solid blocker, and will now battle with Matt Sokol, Scotty Washington, and undrafted free agent Johnny Lumpkin for a spot on the Patriots' depth chart.
