FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots have signed veteran free agent linebacker T.J. Slaughter. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Slaughter, 30, is a veteran of seven NFL seasons and has played in 78 career games with 32 starts since being selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft (92nd overall). The 6-foot-1-inch, 233-pound linebacker has played for Jacksonville (2000-03), Green Bay (2003), Baltimore (2003-04), New Orleans (2005) and San Francisco (2006). He spent the 2007 season out of football. Slaughter has recorded 358 career tackles (172 solo), two sacks, one interception, eight passes defensed, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 47 special teams tackles.

The Southern Mississippi product made a career-high 108 tackles (45 solo) as a rookie with Jacksonville in 2000, a total that ranked third on the team that season. Slaughter followed his rookie campaign with a 92-tackle performance in 2001, a total that ranked fourth on the team despite playing in just nine games. In 2002, he made a career-high 11 starts and totaled 106 tackles (47 solo) while posting nine or more tackles in nine games. Slaughter played in the first six games of the 2003 season for the Jaguars before being released on Oct. 29, 2003. He played in one game later that season for the Green Bay Packers and also participated in a game with the Baltimore Ravens that year. In 2004, Slaughter played in 14 games for the Ravens while serving as a backup to Pro Bowler Ray Lewis. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints prior to the 2005 season and played in 10 games with one start that season. Slaughter joined the San Francisco 49ers in the spring of 2006 and played in 10 games with one start, totaling a career-high 12 special teams tackles before being placed on the reserve/injured list on Nov. 22, 2006.