AP Photo/Steven SenneHunter Henry, New England Patriots tight end, is expected to miss some time due to a shoulder injury.ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that a source claimed the injury is not serious and that Henry should be out for only a few weeks.If this timeline is correct, Henry should be healthy for the Patriots' regular season opener against the Miami Dolphins in Sept. 12.Henry spent the first five seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers. He signed a $37.5 million, three-year contract with the Pats as free agency.After Rob Gronkowski's one year retirement and subsequent trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England has seen almost no production from the tight end position in the past two seasons.To combat this, the Patriots signed Henry and former Tennessee Titans tight ends Jonnu Smith. This gives Bill Belichick an impressive two-punch at the position.Henry, 26, is coming off two consecutive 600-yard receiving seasons for the Bolts. He set a new career record with 60 receptions and finished the season with 613 yards and four touchdowns.Henry, while a great threat in the passing field when healthy, has struggled with injuries throughout his NFL career.Arkansas' second-round selection has never played in all 16 games of a season. He also missed the whole 2018 campaign due to a torn ACL.Although Henry is only 6'5" and 250 lbs, his durability issues are already starting to show up early in his Patriots tenure, Schefter's timetable looks promising for Henry being available when it counts.Tight end play is crucial if the Patriots want to rebound from last season's record of 7-9 and be back in contention in the AFC.New England's wide receiver corps is weak with Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne leading the charge, Jakobi Meyers, Jakobi Myers, and N'Keal Harry. Also, quarterback Cam Newton struggled tremendously last season to get the ball to his wideouts.No matter if rookie Mac Jones or Newton wins the starting quarterback job at the NFL, they both should have safety blankets in the form Henry and Smith.Smith will remain the undisputed No. 1 until Henry can return. With Devin Asiasi (Troy Fumagalli), Matt LaCosse and Matt LaCosse following him, it was a close finish.
