Patriots rumors: Former Chiefs TE James O’Shaughnessy released

The New England Patriots have released for Kansas City Chiefs tight end James O’Shaughnessy after trading for him earlier this offseason.

Earlier this offseason, the New England Patriots wanted to revamp their entire tight end corps after starter Rob Gronkowski. To do so, they traded for both Dwayne Allen of the Indianapolis Colts and James O’Shaughnessy of the Kansas City Chiefs. Now they’re admitting the second part of that overhaul didn’t work as planned with the announcement that they’re parting ways with the former Illinois State player.

The trade was a minor blip in a wild offseason of moves and trades for both teams. The Patriots gave the Chiefs a fifth round pick in return for O’Shaughnessy and a sixth round choice. The Chiefs selected Ukeme Eligwe, linebacker, in the fifth round with the Patriots selection, which was a compensatory pick. Eligwe looks like a nice developmental prospect who can help immediately on special teams.

It’s possible the Chiefs might want to reunite with O’Shaughnessy if they still feel uncomfortable with the bottom of the depth chart at tight end. They have Ross Travis and decided to release Gavin Escobar before active roster cuts, but O’Shaughnessy could be claimed on waivers and Travis released if the Chiefs wanted to turn back the clock a bit. Not only could he give the team some insider information concerning the Patriots game plan heading into Week 1, but he’s clearly already familiar with the Chiefs special teams and offensive layout.

O’Shaughnessy was the Chiefs fifth round choice in the 2015 NFL Draft.