Fullback Jakob Johnson seemed to be the perfect Patriot in many ways. He played his first bit of pro football in Germany and arrived to New England as an undrafted free agent.
The only thing he’s missing is a background in rugby.
So it was a bit surprising last week when Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Raiders for the league minimum, leaving Bill Belichick for Josh McDaniels. But apparently, there was a good reason for his departure. The Patriots told Johnson his position no longer exists.
“The Patriots have informed me that they will no longer need my services next season simply because they will no longer have my position on the roster,” Johnson said in a recent interview with the German news outlet, DPA.
As ESPN’s Mike Reiss points out in his notes column, the Patriots could have Jonnu Smith take some of Johnson’s workload. The high-priced tight end only played 46.8 percent of snaps last year, which isn’t enough for someone making $50 million over four years.
That means Smith would take over the responsibilities of a traditional fullback. Belichick appears to be counting on some of the Patriots’ underwhelming free agent additions — namely Smith and Nelson Agholor — to have bigger impacts in their second seasons.
Johnson’s exit, and the elimination of his position, means Smith will likely be asked to do more.
