Broncos Trade For Patriots TE Derby

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - The Broncos acquired TE A.J. Derby from the New England Patriots a week before the NFL's trade deadline.

"A.J. is a young tight end who can help us immediately," John Elway said in a statement on the team's website. "He has tremendous upside and will fit in well on our team."

Derby missed all of last season due to an injury. After recovering, though, he was still behind All Pro Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennet on the depth chart.

"He's a young player that only played the position for a short amount of time, basically a year down in Arkansas, has a lot to learn, has a ways to go, but has some skills to work with," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said in August. "He's a smart kid, he works hard, and he's gotten better. He's making some plays for us in the kicking game, some tackles in coverage. He has caught the ball and blocked competitively. He's done some good things."

Derby played all of one season at quarterback for the Arkansas Razorbacks before transitioning to tight end his senior season.

He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Patriots.

In exchange for Derby, the broncos will send the Patriots an undetermined 2017 pick.