Coming a day after the Patriots signed Massachusetts native and UMass-Amherst alum James Ihedigbo, New England brought back another player that went to college in the area: Boston College's Ricky Brown.
He played linebacker for BC from 2002-05 and had been with the Oakland Raiders since 2006 after hanging on as an undrafted free agent. In five seasons, he's appeared in 55 games and started in 13 games. He's made 102 combined tackles, had four passes defensed and forced three fumbles.
From ESPNBoston's Mike Reiss
“Oakland will always have a special place in my heart. It’s where I started my career,” he said. “I made some really good friends there. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Davis and the organization he has set up, but here’s a new chapter in my life and I’m ready to attack it.”
If Brown is to stick, he knows special teams will be crucial. He’s been down this road before.
“Coming in as an undrafted free agent in ’06 with Oakland, you basically have to make your name playing on special teams,” he said. “The first two years, besides playing in goal-line packages and one start here, one start there, it was basically special teams.”
As for his first day with the Patriots, Brown said, “This is a first-class organization through and through. I’m honored just to be on the team and I’m ready to go to work.”
Much like the defensive backfield, where Ihedigbo was added at safety, the linebacker corps of the Patriots is dangerously thin heading into the regular season. Brown is a long-shot to make the roster but as he rightly noted, special teams are where he'll make himself valuable to the Bill Belichick.
I hate Boston College more than any other school around but it would still be cool to see an underdog type guy like this make the team. You always need players in his mold to fill in the holes between all the stars and high draft picks.
Follow @RichSlate
Tweet
No comments:
Post a Comment