FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed veteran DL Terdell Sands today. To make room on the 53-man roster for Sands, the Patriots released LB Prescott Burgess.
Sands, 6-7, 335 pounds, spent the last six seasons (2003-08) with the Oakland Raiders. He went to training camp with Oakland in 2009, but was waived prior to the start of the regular season. Sands originally entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2001 out of Tennessee-Chattanooga. After missing his rookie season due to an injury, Sands spent part of his second season in 2002 on the practice squads of Kansas City and Green Bay. He began the 2003 season with Green Bay before being waived and signing with Oakland. During his eight NFL seasons, Sands has played in 76 games with 12 starts and has accumulated 95 total tackles, four sacks, two fumble recoveries, one interception and 10 passes defensed.
Burgess, 6-3, 247 pounds, was acquired by New England on Sept. 22, 2009, in a trade with Baltimore for an undisclosed draft choice. He was originally a sixth-round draft pick of the Ravens in 2007 out of Michigan. He saw action in eight games as a rookie, posting seven special teams tackles before ending the year on injured reserve due to a hip injury. Burgess spent the entire 2008 season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury that occurred during the preseason. He saw action in Baltimore's first two games of the 2009 season and was inactive last Sunday against Atlanta for New England.
