FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have signed OL Jerald Hawkins. Terms of the contract were not announced.
Hawkins, 27, is a veteran of four NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2016-17, 20) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019). He also had a brief stint on the Houston Texans practice squad in 2020. The 6-foot-6, 305-pounder originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick (123rd overall) by Pittsburgh out of Louisiana State in the 2016 NFL Draft. He has played in 19 regular season games with one start and one postseason contest as a reserve during his NFL career. After spending his rookie season on injured reserve, he played in five games for the Steelers in 2017. Hawkins was traded by Pittsburgh to Tampa Bay on Aug. 31, 2019, and after a year in Tampa Bay, he was signed by Houston as an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 10, 2020. Hawkins was released by Houston at the end of training camp and began the year on the practice squad before being signed by Pittsburgh to the 53-man roster. Last season, he played in 13 regular season games and one postseason game as a reserve for the Steelers.
