Patriots’ Hunter Henry calls Aaron Hernandez ‘a legend’ in New England

Errors are common on the first day of NFL training camp, and New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry made one at the mic. While speaking with reporters, Henry slipped up by referring to former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez as a “legend.”

Henry was fielding questions about learning offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien’s offense when he mentioned that O’Brien had shown him clips of Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski as examples. According to Mike Kadlick of WEEI in Boston, Henry said Gronkowski and Hernandez can serve as benchmarks because of their legendary status in New England.

That label applies much more to Gronkowski than it does Hernandez, who played for the team from 2010 to 2012 and is now the most infamous player in franchise history. In 2013, Hernandez was convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd and was served a life sentence when he killed himself in prison in 2017.

That part of Hernandez’s life obviously wasn’t on Henry’s mind when he was at the podium on Thursday.

Henry is entering his third season with the Patriots, and he was a fairly consistent target for quarterback Mac Jones last season. In 2022, Henry caught 41 passes for 509 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll look to build upon those numbers and get New England back to the playoffs this fall.