The Patriots and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe agreed to terms on a one-year deal, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter confirmed, according to a source.
The former third-round pick of the New York Giants visited the Patriots last week before continuing on his free-agent tour to Philadelphia.
In adding Shiancoe, the Patriots now have five tight ends on their 90-man roster with NFL experience, with Shiancoe joining Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells (who will start training camp on PUP) and Jake Ballard (who will start training camp on PUP and likely miss the season), as well as undrafted rookie Tyler Urban.
Shiancoe finished 2011 with 36 catches for 409 yards and three scores. He has career totals (nine seasons) of 243 catches, 2,677 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Last week, ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss wrote on why a move with Shiancoe would make sense (link here).