Alabama football tight end CJ Dippre is the third UA player to sign a free-agent deal after the 2025 NFL Draft.

Dippre is joining the New England Patriots, he announced on his Instagram on Saturday night.

Dippre spent two seasons with Alabama after transferring in from Maryland. Along with Robbie Ouzts, who went in the fifth round to the Seattle Seahawks, Dippre took the majority of tight end reps for UA in 2024.

The 6-foot-5, 262-pound tight end is thought of as a strong run blocker, but can contribute in other ways.

“I think CJ’s size is rare,” Alabama assistant coach Nick Sheridan said in August. “He’s a big person and I think he’s hard to tackle when he gets going. I think that showed up in the game and it has shown up throughout fall camp and spring practice. So I think he did a nice job of breaking tackles and running down hill behind his pads.”

Dippre finished the 2024 season with 21 catches for 256 yards. He also chipped in one tackle for UA.

He played in the Senior Bowl following the 2024 season, finishing the game with two catches for 30 yards, including a 25-yard catch on third down that moved the chains for his team. Dippre earned an invite to the NFL Combine as well, where he ran a 4.69-second 40-yard dash.

Speaking to reporters at the combine, Dippre said he was looking to show off his abilities as a pass-catcher in the NFL.

“I think I do have really good routes,” Dippre said. “Can make people get off me. Can get away from a man defender really easily in coverage. I didn’t have the most opportunities, but I did what I could do with my opportunities.”