With the 2018 season in the books, the Providence Journal will take a look at each position group on the Patriots, analyzing how the team performed last year and where it might be heading in the future. Today we look at tight ends.

TIGHT END

Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, Jacob Hollister, Stephen Anderson, Ryan Izzo

Contract situation: The Patriots have a full slate of tight ends returning, but that could change in a [...]

With the 2018 season in the books, the Providence Journal will take a look at each position group on the Patriots, analyzing how the team performed last year and where it might be heading in the future. Today we look at tight ends.

TIGHT END

Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen, Jacob Hollister, Stephen Anderson, Ryan Izzo

Contract situation: The Patriots have a full slate of tight ends returning, but that could change in a hurry.

Gronkowski enters 2019 on the final year of his contract. If he decides against retirement, his base salary will be $9 million and he’ll have a cap hit of $11,859,375. In the event he’s released or walks away, the Patriots would have a dead cap hit of $2 million, but create $9,859,375 in cap space.

Allen also enters 2019 on the final year of his deal. He has a base salary of $6.9 million and a total cap hit of $7,306,250. This year on Allen’s contract isn’t guaranteed, so they could release him and save the entire $7.3 million.

Hollister enters 2019 on the final year of his rookie deal, with a $648,334 cap hit. Since he was an undrafted free agent, Hollister will be a restricted free agent in 2020. Anderson is in a similar situation. He has a cap hit of $645,000 this season and he’ll become a restricted free agent in 2020.

Izzo, the Patriots' 2018 sixth rounder, comes in on the second year of his rookie contract. He’ll count for $512,267 on the Patriots salary cap. Izzo’s signed through the 2021 season.

2018 review: After debating retirement and skipping most of the offseason workout program, Gronkowski returned. Although the future Hall-of-Famer came up big in the playoffs, the 2018 season didn’t bring a lot of production for the Patriots tight end position as a whole.

Gronkowski had a great start to the season, catching seven passes for 123 yards in Week 1. It took Gronk until Week 13 to have another 100-yard game. That was his last of the 2018 season. Gronkowski dealt with an ankle injury for most of the middle of the season. In 13 games, he finished with 47 receptions for 682 yards and three touchdowns.

He caught 13 passes for 191 yards in three playoff games. Gronk came up with the biggest catch in Super Bowl LIII to set up the game-winning touchdown.

Other than Gronk, the Patriots tight end position didn’t factor into the team’s passing game. Allen caught just three passes on four targets for 27 yards. Allen played a part in the Patriots offense, excelling as a blocking tight end.

Hollister was fantastic in the offseason. The regular season, however, brought multiple injuries that set this second-year player back — a chest injury and three separate hamstring injuries. He was eventually placed on the injured reserve after catching four passes for 52 yards in eight games.

Anderson was promoted from the Patriots practice squad to the team’s 53-man roster when Hollister landed on the IR. He didn’t appear in a game� and was a healthy scratch throughout the playoffs. Izzo initially made the Patriots 53-man roster, but was put on the injured reserve due to an ankle injury before the regular-season opener.

The future: The tight end position is the biggest unknown for the Patriots heading into the 2019 offseason.

Gronkowski is debating retirement and it’s unknown if any of the tight ends on last year’s team will make the Patriots 2019 roster. It’d be a surprise if the Patriots kept Allen at his current cap hit. Expect him to be restructured or released.

Izzo looked like a capable blocking tight end last summer, so perhaps he’ll earn that role this coming season. Hollister and Anderson have the makings of a move tight end, but have a lot to prove. Neither Izzo, Hollister nor Anderson are roster locks.

If Gronkowski retires, the Patriots have to overhaul their tight end position. The draft is a great place to start as there are multiple prospects projected to go in rounds one and two. The team will also have to search in free agency and the trade market.

Even if Gronk returns, the Patriots need to restock the position to plan for life without their star offensive weapon.