FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced today that they have acquired TE Asante Cleveland from San Francisco in exchange for OL Jordan Devey. The team also announced that they have released LB L.J. Fort and TE Logan Stokes.
Cleveland, 23, was originally signed by San Francisco as a rookie free agent out of Miami (FL) on May 12, 2014. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder, spent the first two weeks of the regular season on the team's practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster on Sept. 20 and making his NFL debut at Arizona on Sept. 21. He spent the next eight weeks on the team's practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster on Nov. 27. Cleveland played in the team's final five regular-season games, but did not record any catches. During his four-year collegiate career at Miami (FL), he appeared in 40 games with 10 starts, totaling 14 receptions for 151 yards and one touchdown.
Devey, 27, was signed by the Patriots to the practice squad on Sept. 3, 2013. The 6-foot-6, 320-pounder, was originally signed by Baltimore as a rookie free agent out of Memphis on May 3, 2013. He went to training camp with the Ravens, but was released prior to the regular season on Sept. 2, 2013. In 2014, Devey played in seven regular-season games with four starts - three at left guard and one at right guard - but was inactive for nine regular-season contests and all three playoff games.
Fort, 25, was signed by the Patriots as a free agent on Aug. 4, 2015. He has spent time in the NFL with Cleveland (2012), Denver (2013-14), Seattle (2014) and Cincinnati (2014-15). The 6-foot, 230-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Cleveland out of Northern Iowa on May 3, 2012. He made the Cleveland 53-man roster as a rookie and played in all 16 games with one start, finishing with 13 tackles, one interception, one sack, three passes defensed and seven special teams tackles. Fort was released by Cleveland at the end of training camp in 2013 before being signed to the Denver practice squad in December of 2013. Fort was released by Denver following training camp in 2014 and was signed by Seattle to the practice squad on Oct. 21. He was signed to the Seattle 53-man roster from the practice squad on Oct. 29 and saw action in one game before being released and signed back to the practice squad. Fort was released from Seattle's practice squad on Nov. 11, and was signed to the Cincinnati practice squad on Nov. 26. He was released by Cincinnati on April 29, 2015.
Stokes, 22, was signed by the Patriots as a free agent on Aug. 10, 2015. He originally signed with the Patriots as a rookie free agent from Louisiana State on June 11, 2015, before being released on June 18, 2015. He began his college career at Northeast Mississippi Community College for two seasons (2011-12) before transferring to LSU for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The 6-foot-5, 255-pounder, was utilized mainly as a blocking tight end during his time at LSU. He played in 13 games last season and caught his only reception on a three-yard touchdown pass in LSU's 10-7 win over Ole Miss.
