FOXBORO -- When James Develin suffered a broken leg against the Panthers on Friday night, the Patriots lost their lone true fullback.
It's unclear just how much time Develin will miss, and it's unclear how his roster spot will be handled, but if the team believes he has an opportunity to re-take the field at some point this season, it may deem him valuable enough to be given the short-term injury reserve designation. If it looks as though it would be a long shot for Develin to play again in 2015, he would likely end up on season-ending injured reserve.
Either way, the Patriots will have to find someone to handle the duties that Develin performed in the offense. Though he wasn't used much -- he saw about 20 percent of the team's offensive snaps in 2014 -- he was used often in crucial short-yardage or goal-line situations.
Develin gave the Patriots versatility in that played in the kicking game, and he also met and practiced with tight ends on a daily basis. Because those positions can be interchangeable at times, it may make sense for one of the tight ends already on the roster to shoulder the fullback load.
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was a unanimous First-Team All-Pro last season, but he offered up his services if they're needed in the backfield.
"There's definitely similarities at each position, tight end and fullback," Gronkowski said. "Sometimes you see the fullback line up at tight end and the tight end line up at fullback. It's all about what you can do as a player. You gotta do your job. The more you can do the better off you are. If I ever got called to play fullback, I know I've lined up in the backfield a couple of times and played fullback. It's definitely a position that interchanges and you can play both."
Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui may also provide the Patriots with a fullback option who is already on the roster. Like Gronkowski, he has served as a lead blocker from different spots -- from out of the backfield or while in motion -- and could be serviceable in that type of role.
New England Patriots
Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn't dive too deeply into how the tight end and fullback positions are related, but he did say that his coaching staff is looking at different options when it comes to finding a suitable replacement for Develin.
"I mean, I’m sure there are a lot of different possibilities," he said. "There are different possibilities. We’ve talked through different options. I don’t know. But the tight end plays off of the other skills positions, and with a player like [Hoomanawanui], who has played on the offensive line, maybe he plays in the offensive line positions or the offensive line plays into the tight end position, as we’ve used offensive linemen in that spot. So, I don’t know."
However the Patriots cope with Develin's loss, Gronkowski said it was tough to see their "thumper" get hurt.
"He's definitely going to be missed," Gronkowski said. "He was our thumper, he was the guy that set the tone on our offense with big hits and cleared the holes out for the running backs. He's a great guy, hard worker, and I'm sure he'll be back in no time. He loves the game and always works hard, we just gotta come together as a team and fill the holes that are missing that aren't quite there yet."