Getty Images

If the Patriots were interested in Jared Cook before, they definitely should be now.

And the Saints should be in a hurry.

With the surprise (in timing, if not content) retirement of Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots are suddenly caught short at the position they’re traditionally deepest at.

Cook’s coming off a career year with the Raiders, and was close to an agreement with the Saints. He was close enough that he was willing to talk about how great it was going to be to catch passes from quarterback Drew Brees.

But if he thinks it would be “pretty awesome” to play with Brees, he’d likely be just as excited about playing with Tom Brady. And he can use that reality to try to get a little extra out of the Saints if he chooses.

For the Patriots, the depth chart is anything but deep at the moment. They released Dwayne Allen (who went to Miami) and there’s little of note left on the market (beyond Jaguars free agent Austin Seferian-Jenkins). They currently employ Stephen Anderson, Matt LaCosse, Jacob Hollister, and Ryan Izzo.

The Patriots have proven themselves capable of adjusting to many situations in the past, but there’s no replacement for a future Hall-of-Famer, which will require them to do business differently. They tried to circle back on wide receiver Adam Humphries after he agreed to a deal with the Titans, so it’s not out of character — or a bad idea.