FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed five players to future contracts today - defensive lineman Titus Adams, linebacker Angelo Craig, punter Tom Malone, linebacker Darrell Robertson and offensive lineman Ryan Wendell. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed. All five players ended the 2008 season as members of the Patriots practice squad.
Adams, 25, spent the entire 2008 regular season on the Patriots practice squad. He was originally selected by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Nebraska. The 6-foot-4-inch, 305-pound defensive lineman has not played in an NFL game, but has been signed by the New York Jets (2006 training camp), New York Giants (2007 offseason), San Diego Chargers (2007 training camp) and Cincinnati Bengals (2007 practice squad). He was released by the Bengals on July 7, 2008 and was signed by the Patriots on July 24, 2008.
Craig, 23, was a member of the Patriots practice squad from Dec. 3 through the end of the 2008 season. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft out of the University of Cincinnati. The 6-foot-5-inch, 242-pound linebacker was released by the Bengals in the final preseason roster cutdown on Aug. 31, 2008. He was signed to the Carolina Panthers practice squad on Sept. 3, 2008 and was released the following day.
Malone, 24, had two stints on the Patriots practice squad in 2008 - from Sept. 10 to Sept. 15 and from Nov. 26 through the end of the season. He was also on the Patriots practice squad late in the 2006 season and was with the team for its 2007 training camp. He was signed to the Patriots practice squad on December 20, 2006, and was signed to the active roster on January 23, 2007 before being released on Aug. 22, 2007. The 6-foot, 205-pound punter was originally signed by the San Francisco 49ers as a rookie free agent on May 5, 2006, out of the University of Southern California.
Robertson, 22, was a member of the Patriots practice squad from Nov. 17 through the end of the 2008 season. He was originally signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a rookie free agent following the 2008 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-4-inch, 246-pound linebacker was released by the Cowboys on Aug. 30, 2008. He was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League on Sept. 9, 2008 and played in two games for Edmonton, recording six tackles before being released on Sept. 29.
Wendell, 22, was a member of the Patriots practice squad from Sept. 24 through the end of the 2008 season. He was originally signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Fresno State on May 2, 2008. The 6-foot-2-inch, 275-pound guard/center was with the Patriots throughout their 2008 training camp and was released on Aug. 26. Wendell was a four-year starter at Fresno State and was a first-team All-WAC selection as a senior in 2007.
