Just A Normal Tuesday In Foxborough: Stallworth Put On IR, Shiancoe Released & Branch Returns?

If you are going to play in one game in an NFL regular season and literally make one play, it's hard to top the way Patriots wide receiver Donte' Stallworth went out in 2012. He caught a 63-yard touchdown from Tom Brady (with one hand!) on Monday night which made it 28-0 New England and today, he went to IR with an ankle injury.

I guess it got lost in the shuffle of the 42-14 blowout victory over the Texans but apparently he sat out the last 25 minutes of the game. I don't remember one mention of that fact, I guess the Pats beat writers were too busy getting their stories done early. With Julian Edelman already on IR, the Patriots are very thin at wide receiver. That means that Deion Branch should be back as soon as tomorrow for the third time this season. His locker was kept just how he left it for him since he was waived on November 17-to deal with a hamstring injury.

In other Pats roster moves, they released tight end Visanthe Shiancoe from the 53-man roster and offensive lineman Tommie Draheim from the practice squad. To say that Shiancoe was a complete non-factor would be a big understatement. Hell even Kellen Winslow caught a pass the one week he was here. Haha bet you forgot about that. After going on IR (with the designation to return), Shiancoe "played" in the last four games but had zero impact-no catches.

All you have to know is that he was beaten out by Daniel Fells and Michael Hoomanawanui while Rob Gronkowski is out with his broken forearm. I doubt that New England would sign another tight end since they also have Aaron Hernandez and Gronk can't be that far away from getting back on the field. However, you never know with this team. Perhaps Ben Coates or Kyle Brady will return. Haha just kidding.

UPDATE 12/12: Today, New England signed wide receiver Tony Logan to the practice squad.

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There Goes Kellen Winslow Jr.'s Shot At The Patriots Hall Of Fame

Blink and you missed the entire extent of Kellen Winslow's time with the Patriots in 2012. Today, the high-strung tight end asked for and promptly received his release from the team a mere nine days after signing with New England in the first place. So in other words, his tenure here was about as long as your typical relationship in middle school.

We'll never really know what Winslow has left since he got on the field for a total of four plays on Sunday against the Ravens (which earned him $48,529, really). He had a 12-yard catch and dropped another pass that was right in his hands (not all that difficult) on the sideline. The good news for Patriots fans is that Winslow probably saw the writing on the wall at his position. Aaron Hernandez reportedly was seen in the locker room today without crutches or a protective boot which makes you think he'll be back in a few weeks and maybe he won't be out as long as we all thought after getting injured against the Cardinals.

With Rob Gronkowski, Hernandez (whenever he returns), Daniel Fells and Michael Hoomanawanui, New England is more than set for tight ends this season. In a couple weeks, we probably won't even remember that Winslow was ever here to begin with. He'll be one of those million transactions that happen during every NFL season that never end up meaning anything.

Don't forget that the Pats also have Visanthe Shiancoe stashed away on the new IR/designated to return list, which means he should finally see the practice field in a few weeks.

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The Patriots Will Sign All The Tight Ends In The World, Thank You Very Much

If accumulating tight ends directly correlated to wins in the NFL, the Patriots would be undefeated this season.

With only two days left until 2012 training camp starts for veterans on Thursday, New England signed veteran Visanthe Shiancoe to a one-year deal.

A third-round pick of the Giants in 2003 out of Morgan State, Shiancoe made his name in Minnesota (five seasons) after four forgettable years in New York. Looking at his career stats, the first thing that pops out is that he's never missed a game in nine years in the NFL. That's incredible since tight end is a pretty physical position so he's obviously a tough guy.

The Vikings have been a mess the last two seasons but he's still managed to put up decent numbers basically without an NFL-caliber quarterback throwing to him-sorry Joe Webb, Christian Ponder, etc. Shiancoe has 36+ catches in the last four seasons and at least 409 receiving yards every year in that span. His best season was 2009 when Minnesota made it to the NFC Championship Game before Brett Favre did his usual chokejob. Shiancoe had a career-high 56 catches, 566 receiving yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns.

For his career, he's caught 243 passes for 2677 yards (11.0 yards per catch) and 27 touchdowns with a career-long reception of 79 yards.

With fellow newcomer Daniel Fells starting camp on the PUP list (physically unable to perform), Visanthe is already positioned as New England's third tight end. Given that Rob Gronkowski is coming off ankle surgery and Aaron Hernandez has missed games in both seasons in the NFL, Shiancoe is cheap and potentially a valuable insurance policy should one of the two main guys get hurt again at any point this season.

UPDATE 7/25: The Pats released running back Joseph Addai (damn, he must be washed up to be cut before training camp even started) and signed local guy Tim Bulman. The defensive lineman went to Boston College and BC High and he's from Milton, Mass. He played the last four seasons with the Houston Texans.

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