Patriots’ Plan B for DeAndre Hopkins retires days after signing

Wideout Jalen Hurd signed with the Patriots a week ago, but he recently changed his mind and decided to retire.

A week is all it took for Patriots quarterback Mac Jones to run the newly signed Jalen Hurd out of town.

Hurd, an ex-49ers draft pick, agreed to terms with New England on July 24, at the time seemingly posing as the team’s backup plan to missing out on DeAndre Hopkins.

For reasons unknown, Hurd decided to hang up his cleats on Tuesday and retire from the NFL after never playing a single snap. The 2019 third-rounder saw his brief tenure in the league cut short due to injury after injury, and now, finally, he will get the reprieve of perhaps finding a new, less dangerous occupation.

Honestly, most Patriots fans probably didn’t even remember his name. In the blink of an eye, Hurd has disappeared, and the Pats’ wide receiver depth remains mostly the same.

Patriots WR Jalen Hurd retires from NFL

What was it that drove Hurd out of New England? Mac Jones’ nastiness? Bill Belichick’s bad breath? An epiphany of some sort that led Hurd to want to pursue a different career?

Whatever it was, the Patriots can’t say they miss him — at all.

Heading into 2023, the Pats’ training camp battles will feature enthralling competition from JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, and others grappling for the top pecking order. Hurd was never going to break into the starting lineup anyway, and his retirement gives other young receivers the opportunity to contribute instead.

Compared to how long Belichick has been tenured on the Pats, Hurd’s brief stint feels even smaller in the rear view window. In several months’ time, no one will recall who Hurd is. So it goes.