FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced today that they have signed TE Joseph Fauria, CB Chris Greenwood and S Brock Vereen to the practice squad and released DBs Ross Ventrone and Dewey McDonald from the practice squad.
Fauria, 25, is a veteran of two NFL seasons with the Detroit Lions (2013-14). The 6-foot-7, 262-pounder, originally signed with Detroit as a rookie free agent out of UCLA in 2013. He played in 23 games with two starts and caught 24 passes for 281 yards and eight touchdowns in his two seasons, including seven touchdowns as a rookie in 2013. Fauria went to training camp with Detroit this past summer but was released on Sept. 5. He was signed by Arizona on Sept. 10 and spent time on the Cardinals practice squad before being released on Oct. 2.
Greenwood, 26, is a veteran of three NFL seasons and has had stints with the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens. The 6-foot-1, 197-pounder, was originally drafted by Detroit in the fifth round (148th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. Greenwood spent his rookie season on the Physically Unable to Perform List and most of 2013 on the Lions practice squad before being added to their 53-man roster late in the season. He appeared in three games and made six tackles. Greenwood spent the first 15 weeks of 2014 on Minnesota's practice squad before being signed to Baltimore's 53-man roster. He was inactive for two regular-season games and both postseason contests. He went to training camp with Baltimore this year and was released prior to the start of the regular season.
Vereen, 23, is in his second NFL season after being drafted by Chicago in the fourth round (131st overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft. The 5-foot-11, 202-pounder, played in all 16 games with four starts for the Bears in his rookie season and totaled 38 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble. He appeared in three games as a reserve for Chicago this season before being released on Sept. 29. Vereen joined the Minnesota practice squad on Oct. 1 and was released on Nov. 13.
