Foxborough, Mass. ? Last Friday, Patriots coach Bill Belichick told tight end Daniel Graham that he was making him a team captain for the rest of the season.

“It’s an honor,” Graham, a five-year veteran, said Wednesday. “It did catch me by surprise.”

Since Belichick took over the Patriots in 2000, the only time he has appointed a captain after the season started was in September 2003 with Rodney Harrison.

This is December, with just four games left in the regular season. The Patriots already have Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Tedy Bruschi, Troy Brown, Mike Vrabel, Larry Izzo and the injured Harrison (broken shoulder blade) as captains. Why appoint Graham now?

“Dan’s leadership, his toughness … on and off the field,” Belichick said. “His dependability. I think the respect that he has from everybody in this organization. … I just thought it was the right thing to do.”

Other factors could be at work, too. Graham, who missed four games with a foot injury before returning in mid-November, is eligible for free agency after this season, so maybe this is Belichick’s non-financial way of showing Graham how much he appreciates his contributions.

Or is this Belichick’s way of recognizing Graham’s focus and professionalism while he contends with family issues?

In 2002, when the Patriots traded up 11 spots with the Redskins to make the University of Colorado’s Graham their No. 1 pick (21st overall), Graham’s brother Jason had surgery to remove a brain tumor. He was also diagnosed with kidney disease and, at the time, the Grahams were told Jason would need a transplant in 3-4 years. Graham unhesitatingly volunteered his own kidney to save his brother, even though he knew it would have delayed, or quite possibly prematurely ended, his budding pro football career.

New England tight end daniel graham (82) catches a touchdown pass in front of Green Bay linebacker Tracy White during the first half of a game against the Packers in November in Green Bay, Wis.

As it turned out, doctors determined that their mother, Marilyn, 57, was a better kidney donor. Jason received his mother’s kidney Tuesday at a St. Louis hospital, the surgery delayed for five days so Daniel could be there.

“He’s doing good,” Graham said. “I just got back (Tuesday night) and everything went well.”

Belichick isn’t known as the sentimental type.

So, Graham, 28, said he doubted his brother’s illness had much to do with his being named captain.

“I really don’t think it does,” Graham said. “My work ethic has really shown. I have the respect of my teammates. Every day, when I step on the field, I give my all. I play tough, I play physical.”

Although injuries — Graham has missed nearly 20 percent of the Patriots regular season games (15 of 76) — have slowed his career, Graham has established himself as one of the NFL’s best blocking tight ends. Although third-year tight end Benjamin Watson (48 catches for 638 yards, a 13.3-yard average) hasn’t missed a game and leads the Patriots in receptions, the speed of Graham (13 catches, 162 yards) also makes him a receiving threat. Graham has caught 30 or more passes in a season only twice, but watch him block to better gauge his worth.

“He’s such a physical presence (at 6 feet 3, 257 pounds),” Patriots fullback Heath Evans said.

“You can see how other teams respect him by the way they set their defense towards him. He’s one of those guys you can’t be without.”

Graham is also a master blaster on special teams, where his combination of size, strength and speed is always in demand.