FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots released second-year safety Shawn Mayer today.
Mayer, 25, was originally signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent on May 2, 2003. The 6-foot, 202-pounder played in 12 regular-season games and three postseason games during his tenure in New England, recording a total of 17 special teams tackles and two tackles in defensive play. In the 2003 postseason, he added three special teams stops and one defensive tackle. So far this season, the Hillsborough, N.J. native had played in all three games and recorded four special teams tackles.
As a rookie, Mayer was released by New England in last season's final preseason roster cutdown (8/31/03), and was signed to the practice squad the next day. The Penn State product was signed to the active roster from the practice squad on Oct. 18, 2003 and made his NFL debut at Miami the next day. He returned to the practice squad on Nov. 10, then was signed back to the active roster on Nov. 22 and played in the final six games of the regular season and all three postseason contests.
