FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed free agent linebacker Junior Seau today. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Seau was selected to 12 consecutive Pro Bowls from 1992-2003. He is in his 17th NFL season, having previously played for the San Diego Chargers (1990-2002) and Miami Dolphins (2003-05). The team also announced the signing of veteran tight end Chris Luzar and the release of tight end Walter Rasby.
Seau, 37, has played in 230 games with 227 starts in his NFL career. The 6-foot-3-inch, 248-pound linebacker has recorded 1,724 career tackles (1,343 solo), including 52.0 sacks for 309.5 yards, 15 interceptions for 210 yards, 93 passes defensed, 12 forced fumbles and 17 fumble recoveries, including one returned for a touchdown. Seau was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-Decade Team of the 1990s and has been an Associated Press first team All-Pro selection six times (1992-94, 1996, 1998, 2000) and has been a second-team All-Pro on two occasions (1995, 1999). In recognition of his off-the-field achievements, he was named the NFL's Man of the Year in 1994.
Seau was originally drafted by the Chargers with the fifth overall selection in the 1990 NFL Draft. The University of Southern California product started 15 of 16 games as a rookie and missed only seven games over a 14-year span from 1990-2003. Seau has averaged 108 tackles per season over his 16-year career and has led his team in tackles 90 times in 230 career games. His 12 career Pro Bowl selections are tied for the third most since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, trailing only Bruce Matthews (14) and Reggie White (13). His 230 career games played are the most of any active NFL linebacker.
In his 13-year career with San Diego (1990-2002), Seau played in 200 games, tying him for first on the Chargers' all-time list. He was selected as the Chargers' Most Valuable Player a team-record six times and led the team in tackles in eight of his 13 seasons in San Diego.
He was traded by the Chargers to the Miami Dolphins on April 16, 2003 in exchange for a fifth-round draft choice. In his first year with Miami, he started all 15 games in which he played and finished second on the team with 133 tackles (81 solo), including three sacks. Over the last two seasons with Miami, Seau started 13 of 15 games while recording a total of 101 tackles.
Luzar, 27, was originally drafted in the fourth round (118th overall) of the 2002 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 6-foot-7-inch, 262-pound tight end out of Virginia played in 23 games in two seasons with the Jaguars and caught four passes for 35 yards. He was released by Jacksonville on Nov. 3, 2004 and was signed by the New York Giants as a free agent on Jan. 21, 2005.
Rasby, 33, signed with the Patriots on July 28, 2006. In his 11-year career, Rasby started 69 of 144 games with five different teams and caught 64 career receptions for 584 yards and scored five touchdowns.
