The Patriots have signed 29-year old DT Terdell Sands.  Sands played in 16 games for the Raiders last season and he made 29 tackles, defensed 2 passes and he had 2 sacks.  He has now played in 76 games in his NFL career and he has made 129 tackles, has defensed 10 passes, has 4 sacks and he has picked off 1 pass.  Sands adds another big body to help out against the run for the D.  The Patriots released OLB Prescott Burgess just one week after acquiring him from the Ravens.  He must have made quite a good first impression.

The Patriots have signed 25-year old running back Chris Taylor.  Taylor played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Texans last season and he carried the ball 14 times for 37 yards (2.6 ypc).  He has now played in 7 games (0 starts) in his two year NFL career and he has carried the ball 42 times for 160 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 3 passes for 40 yards (13.3 avg) in his career.  Taylor is a solid player but he’s injury prone and the Patriots are deep at RB so he will likely have a hard time making the team.

The Patriots have signed 27-year old QB Andrew Walter.  Walter played in 2 games last season for the Raiders and he completed 22 of 49 passes (44.9%) for 204 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 interceptions (31.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for 19 yards (3.8 ypc) last season.  In his three year NFL career, Walter has played in 15 games in which he has completed 174 of 333 passes (52.3%) for 1,919 yards with 3 TD passes and 16 interceptions (52.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 19 times for 49 yards (2.6 ypc) in his career.  Walter played on some really awful Raiders’ football teams so he will be a much, much better football player for the Patriots.  To make room on the roster for Walter the Patriots have released 25-year old QB Matt Gutierrez.  Gutierrez played in 5 games in his career with the Patriots and he completed his only pass attempt for 15 yards.  He also carried the ball 5 times for -13 yards (-2.6 ypc) but most of those were kneel downs.  The Patriots improved the QB depth chart with this move.

The Patriots have signed 31-year old linebacker Paris Lenon to a 1-year deal.  The 6′2″, 235 pound Lenon was a tackling machine for the Lions last season as he played in all 16 games for them and he made 121 tackles, defensed 3 passes, had 1.5 sacks and he forced 2 fumbles.  Lenon has now played in 112 games in his NFL career and he has made 446 tackles, defensed 17 passes, has 5 sacks, forced 5 fumbles and he has intercepted 2 passes (one he returned for a TD).  This was a outstanding pickup for the Patriots.

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.