FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed defensive back Omare Lowe and linebacker Eric Alexander to the 53-man roster from the practice squad today. The team concurrently released offensive tackle Marques Sullivan.
Lowe, 26, was originally drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round (161st overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-1-inch, 195-pounder has played in four NFL games in his career and recorded one special teams tackle. He was signed to the Patriots practice squad on Nov. 16, then joined the active roster on Nov. 27 and played in the Patriots' 24-3 victory over Baltimore on Nov. 28. He was released from the active roster on Nov. 29 and was re-signed to the practice squad on Dec. 1. Lowe has also spent time on the active rosters of the Miami Dolphins (2002) and the New York Jets (2003), while also seeing time with the practice squads of the Tennessee Titans (2003) and Minnesota Vikings (2004). The University of Washington product was recently a member of the Vikings practice squad from Sept. 15 to Sept. 21, 2004. He played in two games for the Jets last season and saw time in one game with Miami as a rookie in 2002.
Alexander, 22, was originally signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent on April 29, 2004. The 6-foot-2-inch, 240-pounder played for New England in all four preseason games this year before being released in the final roster reduction on Sept. 5, 2004. He was signed to the practice squad on Sept. 6 and remained on the squad until being signed to the active roster today. Alexander attended Louisiana State University, where he excelled on special teams in his first three seasons before taking over as a starting outside linebacker as a senior in 2003.
Sullivan, 26, is in his fourth NFL season and has played in 32 career games with 22 starts. He was signed by the Patriots on December 3, 2004 and did not see game action in his time with the Patriots. The 6-foot-5-inch, 325-pound lineman was originally drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round (144th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons with the Bills from 2001 to 2003, and was a member of the New York Giants earlier this season.
