New England announced that it re-signed second-year cornerback Kato Serwanga Monday.
Serwanga, 23, started the final three games of the regular season at left cornerback in 1999 in place of the injured Ty Law. He played well in those games, as he was credited with 29 total tackles, a sack, two interceptions, six pass deflections, a forced fumble and a special teams tackle during the stretch.
He made his first career start against Philadelphia in Week 15 and posted five tackles and an interception. The next week against Buffalo, Serwanga led the team with 16 tackles, including 14 solo stops. He also dropped Doug Flutie for a 6-yard loss on a corner blitz for his first career sack. In the season finale, Serwanga intercepted a Tony Banks pass in the end zone to help preserve a 20-3 victory over the Baltimore.
After spending most of the 1998 season on the Patriots practice squad, Serwanga played in every game in 1999. He finished the year with 49 total tackles, one sack, three interceptions, 15 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
Serwanga will likely be competing for the starting right corner position in training camp. The spot will be open unless New England re-signs Steve Israel, which is an unlikely move. Serwanga, Tebucky Jones and J'Juan Cherry are expected to battle for the starting role.
The 6-foot, 198-pound Serwanga originally signed with the Patriots as a rookie free agent in 1998. He was waived at the end of training camp and re-signed to the team's practice squad. He was signed to the active roster on Dec. 1, 1998, but was listed among the team's inactives for each of the final four regular season games.
