The New England Patriots have signed OG Jamey Richard. Richard was originally a 7th round pick of the Colts in 2008 out of the University of Buffalo. He played in 48 games over four seasons with Indianapolis, with 11 starts (seven in '08 and four in 2010). Richard is the 90th man on the Patriots' roster, meaning they have now reached the NFL off season limit.
New Patriots receiver Brandon Lloyd has been impressive during the team's OTAs, but many people expected that. After all, Lloyd is on his third stop with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and knows the playbook and play calls like the back of his hand. Lloyd has been so impressive that the Boston Globe reports that Patriots quarterbacks have been looking for him all week because he's been exactly where he needs to be on every play. Lloyd was coy when it came to his role and his goals for this season but gave a... [Read More]
Chad Ochocinco was a man set adrift in the offense of the New England Patriots last season, the light never went on. With a full off-season to pore over the playbook, the veteran wide-out is running out of excuses. Ochocinco, however, "seemed to pick up where he left off" at Thursday's OTA session, according to the Boston Globe, teammate Deion Branch had to instruct him where to line up on one play. Ochocinco later proceeded to draw an off-sides penalty and was asked to run a lap by coaches. Let's not melt... [Read More]
The New England Patriots most important rookie pick since they selected Jerod Mayo in 2008 is now under contract. The team announced that defensive end Chandler Jones has signed his rookie deal. The Patriots traded up six spots to grab the No. 21 overall pick from Syracuse. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the labor agreement signed last year will give Jones a four-year contract with a team option for a fifth year.
Wes Welker was in attendance at Patriots OTAs on Monday, but the week before practice started was far more eventful. After Welker signed his franchise tender, he commented that negotiations with the team were getting worse and that reportedly drew the ire of the Patriots organization and had Welker backtracking over the weekend. Patriots owner Robert Kraft sounds ready to be a peacemaker. "Well we’d like to see him be a Patriot for life but it takes two sides," Kraft told Kim Jones of NFL Network Tuesday at... [Read More]
The New England Patriots have signed sixth-round defensive back Nate Ebner to a four-year contract. The deal is worth roughly $2.195 million. The 6-foot, 205-pounder was selected 197th overall. Ebner is prized for his special-teams ability. A former world-class rugby player who walked onto the Buckeyes' program three years ago, Ebner was named the most outstanding special teams player last season.
On Saturday, ATL's Marc Sessler wrote how franchised New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker had shifted into "good soldier mode" last week, signing his $9.515 million tender, backtracking from comments he made about contract talks with the Patriots and stating his intention to report for the start of OTAs on Monday. Welker had also spared with former Patriots linebacker and current NFL Network analyst Willie McGinest on Twitter, with McGinest calling Welker out for his "diva" attitude... [Read More]
Wes Welker has shifted into good-soldier mode, telling reporters he will report for organized team activities with the New England Patriots on Monday. The wide receiver met with the media on Saturday at his football clinic in Peabody, Mass., and it didn't take long for questions about his contract to bubble up. Welker said he regretted describing contract dealings with the team as taking a turn for the worse, he clarified that wasn't the case. "That was probably a bad choice of words," he told ESPNBoston.com,... [Read More]
The Patriots signed rookie free-agent OL Jon Opperud on Friday, the team announced. Opperud originally signed with the Seahawks on April 29 before being released on May 15. He was a three-year starter for Montana and played left guard and left tackle.
Perhaps the greatest game of Dallas Clark's career came against the New England Patriots in the 2006 AFC Championship. Bill Belichick is aware of what Clark can do on the field -- or at least what Clark used to do. Belichick apparently wanted to find out how Clark is looking these days. NFL Network's Michael Lombardi confirmed Friday a Boston Globe report that Clark visited the Patriots on Tuesday. It appears New England was just performing "due diligence", and at this point no deal looks imminent.
New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker said yesterday the Patriots’ offer for a long term deal is now less than the two-year, fully guaranteed $16 million the team proposed during the 2011 regular season. Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe reports that according to a team source, Welker’s decision to go public in recent weeks about negotiations has not gone over well with the Patriots; two weeks ago, when he made appearances on various ESPN programs, he made reference to holding out at least through... [Read More]
The New England Patriots have signed seventh-round pick Alfonzo Dennard to a four-year deal, according to the Boston Globe. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Dennard earned All Big-Ten honors as a cornerback during his senior year at Nebraska and was projected to be selected within the first three rounds of the draft, but his stock took a hit after he was charged with punching a police officer in Lincoln five days before the start of the draft. Dennard will be arraigned on a third-degree felony assault charge... [Read More]
Wes Welker recently signed his one-year franchise tender and that would seem to indicate that the relationship between the New England Patriots and Welker is improving, but that's not the case. Welker is further away than ever from a long-term deal. "There have been talks, but nothing that's brightened anything at all," Welker told Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald. "It’s actually gotten worse." Welker revealed that the Patriots have lowered the two-year, fully guaranteed $16 million offer that... [Read More]
Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots is the highest-paid coach in sports, according to Forbes magazine's annual list. His annual salary: $7.5 million. National Football League coaches occupy eight of the list's top 10 places. Other North American professional sports are represented in the list by two NBA coaches. Winning a Super Bowl is not necessarily a requirement for high monetary compensation, but it doesn't hurt, consider the NFL coaches behind Belichick on the list. Three are tied for second place: Mike... [Read More]
The New England Patriots have agreed to a four-year, $2.148 million contract with seventh-round rookie wide receiver Jeremy Ebert, according to a league source. The deal includes a $48,200 signing bonus. Ebert was selected 235th overall. For his career, Ebert caugth 156 passes for 20 touchdowns. Last season, he caught 75 passes for 1,062 yards.
