Tight end Austin Hooper is with his fourth team in four years — and his fifth in nine NFL seasons — after signing a one-year deal with the Patriots. But Hooper, 29, isn’t starting from scratch this time.
It was the presence of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt that enticed Hooper to sign with the Patriots.
Hooper and Van Pelt were together for two seasons in Cleveland.
“We worked together for two years. Really smart guy. Good energy in the building. That’s a huge part of it,” Hooper said, via Mark Daniels of masslive.com. “Most people just think of the three hours you see on Sunday, but there’s many more hours throughout the week where you’re spending a lot of time together, and it makes work so much better when you enjoy the people you work with. It makes sense, right?
“His style, his approach, his offense, his understanding of his personnel, and who he is as a man and coach, it’s going to make it really fun to be in the building every day.”
Van Pelt, 53, is replacing Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator.
When Hooper was with Van Pelt, he caught 46 passes for 435 yards and four touchdowns in 2020 and 38 receptions for 345 yards and three touchdowns in 2021.
“Just a guy who’s played a lot, been through a lot, coached a lot, and has seen the game from every angle,” Hooper said. “Being able to work with him and seeing him be the same dude every single day — I’m not implying he’ll let things slide — he’ll address issues as all good coaches do, but there’s a way to go about it, which inspires the guys and keeps the atmosphere good, keeps the atmosphere one where you can learn.
“One where you can try stuff out at practice, one where you can push that boundary. I worked with a lot of coaches and not everyone is like that.”