Defensive tackle Mike Wright was the most important player the Patriots re-signed out of this bunch.  He played in all 16 games and he made 32 tackles, had a sack, forced a fumble and recovered 2 fumbles.  He could work his way into an eventual starters job for the Patriots.  Linebacker Corey Mays (8 games, 9 tackles) and CB Rashard Baker (6 games, 2 tackles) are both signings that are just depth moves.

The Patriots have re-signed WR Brandon Childress and guard Gene Mruczkowski.  Childress played in 2 games last season and he caught 2 passes for 7 yards.  Mruczkowski only played in 1 game in 2006 and 18 games in his 4 year career.  Both were just re-signed for depth reasons.

The Patriots have signed WR Kelley Washington to a 5 year, $22 million dollar contract.  Seems like a lot of money for a receiver that only played in 5 games (1 start) and caught 9 passes for 115 yards (12.8 avg) with 1 TD catch.  Over his 4 year career, Washington has played in 44 games (6 starts) and he has caught 72 passes for 893 yards (12.4 avg) with 9 TD receptions.  Washington does have great athletic ability but he has never really gotten the chance to show it as the Bengals were loaded at WR.

The Patriots continue to reload on offense as they signed the super speedy Donte’ Stallworth.  He played in 12 games (11 starts) for the Philadelphia Eagles last season and he caught 38 passes for 725 yards (19.1 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  In his 5 year career, Stallworth has only played in all 16 games twice.  In those two seasons, Stallworth averaged 64 receptions, 856 yards and 6 TD receptions.  He could provide even better numbers this season if he can just stay healthy, because he’s got Tom Brady throwing to him now.

The Patriots have re-signed reserve linebacker Larry Izzo.  He played in 16 games for the Patriots last season and made 14 tackles.  He’s a great special teams player and that’s where he’ll be the most valuable to the Patriots this season.