The Patriots have signed 32-year old DT/DE Marcus Stroud.  Stroud played in 15 games for the Buffalo Bills last season and he had 49 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 2 passes defensed and 1 forced fumble.  He has now played in 146 games in his NFL career and he has 424 tackles, 29.5 sacks, 39 passes defensed  and 8 forced fumbles.  This was a good signing as the Patriots need help along the D-Line and Stroud has been a decent player for a long time.

The Patriots have signed 29-year old DT Atiyyah Ellison.  Ellison played in 15 games last season for the Jaguars and he had 16 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 sack.  Eillison gives the Patriots another big body depth wise for the playoffs but don’t expect any miracles out of him because he’s not much of a player.

The Patriots have signed 24-year old DT Landon Cohen.  Cohen played in 2 games earlier this year for the Jaguars and he had 2 tackles.  Cohen has now played in 22 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 27 tackles.  The Patriots can use some beef on the front line so signing Cohen might turn out to be a good move.

The Patriots have signed 26-year old DT Louis Leonard.  Leonard played in 2 games for the Panthers last season and he had 2 tackles.  Leonard has now played in 20 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 33 tackles and 1 sack.  Leonard is a huge man at 6’4″, 325 pounds and the Patriots could use some beef up front.

UPDATE:  (12/23/2010) – The Patriots have waived Louis Leonard before he even got into a game.

The Patriots have signed 24-year old cornerback Chevis Jackson.  Jackson played in 2 games for the Jaguars earlier this year but he didn’t make any tackles.  Jackson has now played in 33 games in his NFL career and he has 60 tackles, 7 passes defensed, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and 1 interception (which he returned 95 yards for a TD).  Jackson should help out with depth in the secondary and on special teams.

UPDATE:  (12/18/2010) – The Patriots have released Chevis Jackson before he even got into a game for them.

The Patriots have signed 28-year old long snapper Matt Katula to a 2-year deal.  Katula has not played so far this year.  He has played in 80 games in his first five years in the NFL (all with the Ravens).  Katula will replace 25-year old Jake Ingram who has been released.  Ingram played in 8 games for the Patriots this year and all 24 of them in his year and a half with the team.

The Patriots have signed 32-year old kicker Shayne Graham to replace Stephen Gostkowski who is out the remainder of the year.  Graham played in 1 game earlier this year for the Giants and he was 4 for 4 on extra points good for 4 points.  He has now played in 128 games in his NFL career and he has made 196 of 230 field goals (85.2%).  He has also made 280 of 283 extra points as he now has 868 points in his NFL career.  I love this signing for the Patriots who were damn lucky to find a kicker like Graham sitting at home on his couch,

The Patriots have signed 25-year old RB/WR Danny Woodhead.  Woodhead played last week for the Jets but he didn’t get any yards or touch the ball.  He has played in 11 games (0 starts) in his 2 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 15 times for 64 yards (4.3 ypc).  Woodhead has also caught 8 passes for 87 yards (10.9 avg) in his career.  Woodhead could help the Patriots out on special teams and he will provide depth and running back and wide receiver.  I like this pick-up for the Patriots.

The Patriots have signed G/C Darnell Stapleton and CB DeAngelo Willingham.  The 24-year old Stapleton last played in the NFL in 2008 with the Steelers.  He has played in 14 games (12 starts) in his NFL career and he has nice size at 6’3″, 305 pounds.  The Patriots need help at guard right now so I like this signing for them.  23-year old DeAngelo Willingham will provide help on special teams and depth in the secondary if he makes the team.

UPDATE:  (8/11/2010) – The Patriots have released Darnell Stapleton already.

The Patriots have signed 29-year old C/G Eric Ghiaciuc.  He has nice size at 6’4″, 303 pounds and he can handle any of the interior positions on the O-Line.  He last played in 2008 with the Bengals.  Ghiaciuc has now played in 48 games (42 starts) in his four years in the NFL.  This was a solid signing for the Patriots as Ghiaciuc will give them some depth on the inside of the O-Line.