The New England Patriots come as the AFC representative for Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks. As Drake Maye prepares to get the offense going, one of his weapons is having the time of his life at Santa Clara.
Austin Hooper is from the area, and the tight end always visits De La Salle’s campus to train in the summer. He, however, said something that might be misconstrued by Seahawks fans.
Hooper said he is “definitely smelling the roses more… I don’t know how many years I’ve got left.” This will be Hooper’s second Super Bowl. He faced his current team back in the 2016 season when he played for the Falcons in the infamous 28-3 Patriots comeback.
Hooper is not the primary TE on the Pats roster
Hooper is a very reliable and good tight end, but he isn’t as relevant on the roster anymore. The 31-year-old is in his second season with the Patriots. During his 2025 year, he had a low output, with only 263 yards and two touchdowns. For instance, last year he had almost double the production.
That’s because the TE1 of the team is Hunter Henry, who actually had 768 yards and seven touchdowns this season. If Josh McDaniels, the Pats OC, wants to shock the Seahawks, he could perfectly use a two-tight-end formation. That is something that the Patriots have used before to effective results.
see also
Mike Vrabel reveals one of the primary reasons he joined the Patriots this NFL season
Smelling the roses could be the Patriots motto
The Pats come as the underdogs, and many think they are just not as good as the Seahawks. Smelling the roses means to appreaciate or enjoy what is often ignored. The Patriots may feel like they aren’t been taken seriously, so a chip-on-the-shoulder-mentality might arise for Drake Maye and company.
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