Who Should I Start? Giovanni Ricci or John FitzPatrick

Monday, February 3, 7:02 PM

The New England Patriots signed free-agent tight end Giovanni Ricci (knee) to a Reserve/Futures deal on Monday. Ricci was on the Cleveland Browns' practice squad in 2024 but never was active for a regular-season game and was cut in August due to a knee injury. The 28-year-old former undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan made his NFL debut in 2021 with the Carolina Panthers, with all 36 of his career games coming with Carolina. In three NFL seasons, Ricci has caught only nine of 12 targets for 102 yards and no touchdowns with the Panthers. Ricci is more of a blocker than a pass-catcher and will now represent tight end depth for the Patriots throughout the offseason and into training camp this summer. The most likely scenario is that he'll effective serve as a fullback for new Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Tuesday, April 15, 7:32 PM

Free agent tight end John FitzPatrick has re-signed with the Green Bay Packers on an undisclosed contract, according to the team. The former Georgia Bulldog will serve his second stint with the squad after kicking off his career with the Atlanta Falcons for two seasons. FitzPatrick has appeared in 18 games over the prior two seasons but has only caught two passes for 14 yards on two targets. He has yet to garner a start and logged just 91 snaps across both campaigns on offense. However, he also played a good chunk of special teams snaps. The 25-year-old is unlikely to make an impact on the field this year, with fellow tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft dominating playing time. FitzPatrick will provide Green Bay with more depth in 2025.