Patriots Trade TE Michael Hoomanawanui To Saints For DE Akiem Hicks

Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports that the Patriots are trading TE Michael Hoomanawanui to the Saints.

• According to Ian Rapoport, the Patriots will receive DE Akiem Hicks from the Saints as part of this deal.

Saints HC Sean Payton mentioned earlier in the day that they weren’t exactly happy with their depth at tight end right now, and he didn’t rule out the possibility of bringing someone in, so this doesn’t come as a complete surprise.

The Patriots have been carrying four tight ends, which means this move will push Michael Williams up to their No. 3 tight end moving forward.

Hoomanawanui, 27, is in the final year of his two-year, $2.4 million contract that included $1.1 million guaranteed. He’ll make a base salary of $800,000 for the 2015 season.

This season, Hoomanawanui has appeared in two games, but has yet to record a single statistic.

Hicks, 25, is a former third-round pick of the Saints back in 2012. He has one year remaining on his four-year, $2.65 million contract that included a $542,000 signing bonus and stands to make a base salary of $1,529,500 for the 2015 season.

This year, Hicks has appeared in all three games and recorded two tackles for the Saints.