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Sep 21, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (85) scores a touchdown during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Hunter Henry Climbs Patriots TE Record Books

Originally posted on New England Patriots on SI
By Ethan Hurwitz | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The New England Patriots might have lost on the scoreboard, but one member of the team had himself a historic performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3 at Gillette Stadium.

Tight end Hunter Henry caught eight passes for 90 yards, including a pair of touchdown grabs. While the scores helped the Patriots stay completive in their game, Henry continued to climb the ranks of the best tight ends in franchise history.

Entering the game, Henry was fourth all time by a tight end in Patriots history with 204 receptions -- trailing Rob Gronkowski (521), Ben Coates (490), Marv Cook (210) and Russ Francis (207). Four quarters later, Henry surpassed Francis and Cook for sole possession of third place.

For Henry — who's in his fifth season in New England — he's also been one of the most reliable players to find the end zone since the turn of the decade. His now-21 touchdowns is the second-most by any current player (Rhamondre Stevenson, 23) and has found connections with any quarterback that lines up under center. He's scored on passes from Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe and Drake Maye.

With his two touchdowns, Henry became the fifth Patriots tight end to score at least 20 touchdowns with the team, joining Gronkowski (79), Coates (50), Francis (28) and Ben Watson (20).

"Two guys that are special, special players," Henry said. "To be kind of mentioned in the same breath as those guys is an honor. Still got a lot of work to do, a lot of work ahead of me, but those two guys are special. Patriot Hall of Famers, Gronk will get in for sure and will be a first ballot. To be in the same breath as those guys is an honor."

Head coach Mike Vrabel spoke postgame about how the team can score more than Henry's two touchdowns.

"We have to score," Vrabel said. "You have to score in this league. You have to -- again, I'm great with the long drives. We're going to have to continue to use that and gain confidence, but we're going to have to find ways to create explosive plays."

Henry also added one more historic moment to his Week 3 performance. He became the fourth tight end to ever record eight receptions, 90 yards and two touchdowns in a single game since the 1970 merger. The first three to do so were Gronkowski, Coates and Derrick Ramsey -- the first two are often considered the best two Patriots to ever play the position.

And just because he might have had a stellar in-game performance, Henry was feeling the results the next day.

“Sore. Waking up on Mondays is always hard, no matter what goes on,” Henry said in the locker room the next day. “Took a few shots. Taking it day by day and just continuing to get better. But I’ll be alright.”

Throughout his career, Henry continues to stuff the stat sheet. Since signing a four-year deal in 2021 (and later signing an extension in free agency), the former Chargers draft pick has recorded 2,370 total yards to go with his history-making hands.

This article first appeared on New England Patriots on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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