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Rookie linebacker Tyrone McKenzie has torn his ACL at the Patriots’ first minicamp of the off-season. He will be placed on the Injured Reserve List which will cause him to miss his rookie season. The Patriots were hoping that McKenzie would push veteran Tedy Bruschi for his starting job in training camp but that won’t happen now.
The New England Patriots have signed 25-year old safety Brandon McGowan to a 2-year deal. He played in only 2 games for the Bears last season making 4 tackles and defending a pass. In his 4-year career, McGowan has made 105 tackles, defensed 5 passes, forced 1 fumble and he has 2 interceptions. If McGowan can stay healthy he could make a impact on the defense….but that’s a very big if.
The Patriots have signed 29-year old linebacker Vinny Ciurciu to a 1-year contract. He played in 14 games for the Vikings last season making 11 tackles and defended 1 pass. He has now played in 82 games in his 6-year NFL career and he has made 100 tackles and defensed 2 passes. Look for Ciurciu to be nothing more than a special teams ace for the Patriots….but he’s a good one.
The Patriots have traded a 5th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft for TE Alex Smith. Smith is only 26 years old and he’s 6′4″, 258 pounds. He’s a decent receiving TE who wasn’t used right in Tampa. Smith played in 14 games last season for the Bucs and he caught 21 passes for 250 yards (11.9 avg) with 3 TD grabs. In 4 seasons with the Bucs, Smith played in 58 games and he caught 129 passes for 1,252 yards (9.7 avg) with 11 TD grabs. This was another master stroke by Bill Belichick and company as Smith should fit right in to the offense in 2009.
The Patriots have signed undrafted QB Brian Hoyer to a 1-year contract. Hoyer is a big guy at 6′3″, 215 pounds and he’s a classic dropback passer. He doesn’t have the strongest arm around but he has enough zip on the ball to get the job done. Hoyer completed 500 of 896 passes (55.8%) for 6,159 yards with 35 TD passes and 23 interceptions. Hoyer will be given the opportunity to make the Patriots as the #3 QB in Training Camp and the pre-season.