FOXBORO — The Patriots announced seven free-agent additions at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, and three were signed away from division rivals.
The Patriots signed ex-Jets guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, former Bills fullback Reggie Gilliam, and tight end Julian Hill, who wasn’t tendered as a restricted free agent by the Dolphins.
Each player their own preconceived notions about the Patriots, though Vera-Tucker’s was the strongest.
After being selected 14th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Jets, the 26-year-old offensive lineman never envisioned himself in a Patriots uniform.
“No, man, not at all. I’ll be real with you. Playing for the Jets for the past five years, you develop a certain type of hate for this team,” Vera-Tucker said. “But at the end of the day, this league is a business. I have to do what’s best for myself and my family. This place has a great culture of winning and just playing at a high level always. So, yeah, it was a no-brainer.”
Bills fans were unhappy to see Gilliam go to their biggest rivals, but the 28-year-old lead blocker only actually experienced two winning seasons from the Patriots during his time in Buffalo.
He didn’t have to angrily watch the Patriots win six Super Bowls, like Bills fans.
“So, I never had any bad blood towards them,” Gilliam said of his new team. “And I know I had to act like I did and be all, ‘rah, rah, we hate the Patriots, blah, blah.’ But I never really got into that. I didn’t have any bad blood towards any team. I didn’t get there in the whole Tom Brady runs the AFC era, so I never really had any bad blood towards the Patriots.”
Hill, who spent the last three seasons with the Dolphins, respected the Patriots from afar.
“Reggie, he was the Bills. I was freaking (with) the Dolphins. We were rivals. You abided by the cause,” Hill said. “The Patriots is a great organization. They’re tough, they’re gritty, and they finally got to showcase what they’ve been, many years before, last year, right? They got to bring it back to life. Just walking into this building, you can feel that. I know we’re about to move into a new building. But man, just getting to meet Drake Maye this morning, getting to meet all the coaches, everybody has this warm embrace, but everybody got that look in their eye like you gotta earn something here. You gotta earn respect, and I can’t wait to do that.”
Vera-Tucker projects as the Patriots’ starting left guard this season after the team traded Garrett Bradbury with the intention of moving left guard Jared Wilson to center.
Gilliam brings experience as the Patriots’ newest lead blocker, and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf hopes he can help out as a receiver, as well.
“He only had two catches last year, so we’re hopeful that there’ll be an uptick there,” Wolf said. “But he does have good hands, so feel like he was a good addition.”
Wolf also hopes to see more receiving production from Hill, who has good athleticism on his 6-foot-4, 251-pound frame.
Hill ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash at his pro day in 2023 but caught just 33 passes for 288 yards in three seasons with the Dolphins.
“Julian is a guy that, obviously, we’ve played against, and played at a smaller school, and made the team as an undrafted rookie,” Wolf said. “Has really kind of improved each year that he’s been in it. We think there’s probably still some meat on the bone in the passing game as well for him, but certainly a physical, tough guy at the point of attack.”
The full details of Hill’s contract are not yet known, but it’s a three-year deal reportedly worth up to $18 million. That would make him the front-runner as the Patriots’ backup tight end behind Hunter Henry.