FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The New England Patriots signed cornerback Antwain Spann and wide receiver Kelvin Kight from their practice squad today. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed. Spann will wear number 31 and Kight will wear number 19. Additionally, the Patriots placed veteran linebacker Don Davis on the reserve/injured list with a knee injury and released veteran guard/center Gene Mruczkowski.
Spann, 23, made his NFL debut with the Patriots on Oct. 1, 2006 and has played in five games for New England this season while recording five special teams tackles. The 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback was originally signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana-Lafayette on April 17, 2005. He first joined the Patriots as a practice squad player on Jan. 2, 2006. He was signed to New England's active roster on Sept. 30, was released on Nov. 6 and re-joined the practice squad on Nov. 7. He was re-signed to the active roster on Nov. 18 and played in the Patriots' game at Green Bay on Nov. 19, recording one special teams tackle. He was released from the active roster on Nov. 22 and re-signed to the practice squad on Nov. 24.
Kight, 24, has played in one NFL game – for the Green Bay Packers in 2004 – and was originally signed by the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2004. The 6-foot, 213-pound wide receiver was signed by the Patriots on July 31, 2006, and has been a member of the team's practice squad for each of the first 13 weeks of the 2006 season. As a rookie, Kight was waived by the Rams on Aug. 10, 2004 and was signed to the Green Bay Packers practice squad on Sept. 6, 2004. He was signed to the Packers' active roster from the practice squad and played in one game and was listed as a day-of-game inactive for three games before being placed on injured reserve on Dec. 14, 2004. He was waived by the Packers on June 14, 2005 and claimed off waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was with the Jaguars for their 2005 training camp and was released in the final preseason roster cutdown on Sept. 4, 2005. Kight spent most of this past offseason with Minnesota after signing with the Vikings on Jan. 26, 2006. He was released by Minnesota on July 26, 2006.
Davis, 33, is in his 11th NFL season in 2006 and has played in 148 career games with 17 starts. He is in his fourth season with New England since joining the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent on May 16, 2003. The 6-foot-1-inch, 235-pound linebacker and special teams player has recorded 76 special teams tackles in 59 games since joining the Patriots four seasons ago and his eight special teams tackles this season ranked fifth on the team. Davis has also played for the New Orleans Saints (1996-98), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1998-2000) and St. Louis Rams (2001-02). He has started 17 contests in his career, including two games at safety for the Patriots in 2004.
Mruczkowski, 26, was originally signed by the Patriots as an undrafted rookie free agent on May 16, 2003 and has played in 17 games for the team since then. He was inactive for the first three games of the 2006 season before being released on Sept. 30, 2006. He was re-signed for a four-day stint with the team last month, but was released prior to the Packers game in Green Bay. He was most recently re-signed by the team on Dec. 2. The 6-foot-2-inch, 305-pound guard/center missed his rookie season due to injury and returned to play in 10 regular-season games and three playoff games for the Patriots in 2004. Last season, the Purdue product played in seven regular-season games and one playoff contest.
