FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced that that they have signed TE Paul Quessenberry and DT Xavier Williams. Terms of the contracts were not announced.
In addition, the Patriots released TE Alex Ellis and DT Darius Kilgo.
Quessenberry, 28, played defensive end in 38 games over four seasons for the Naval Academy form 2011-14. The 6-foot-2, 250 pounder posted 80 tackles, 3½ sacks, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble and two passes defensed during his collegiate career. Quessenberry has spent the last four years serving as a Naval officer.
Williams, 28, is a veteran of five NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals (2015-17) and the Kansas City Chiefs (2018-19). The 6-foot-2, 309-pounder originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent out of Northern Iowa on May 5, 2015. After sending his first three seasons with Arizona, Williams signed with Kansas City as a restricted free agent on March 22, 2018. He has played in 44 regular-season games with six starts and has registered 83 tackles, three sacks and three forced fumbles. In addition, he has played in four postseason games with Kansas City and posted 11 total tackles. Last season, Williams was limited to five regular-season games with the Chiefs and made eight tackles and forced one fumble. He played in two postseason games for the Chiefs and dressed but did not play in Super Bowl LIV.
Ellis, 27, was signed by the Patriots on Aug. 17, 2020. He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Tennessee Titans out of Tennessee on May 9, 2016. The 6-foot-4, 253-pounder was released by Tennessee after training camp. He was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars to the practice squad on Sept. 5, 2016, and added to the 53-man roster on Nov. 26, playing in six games and recording three receptions for 11 yards. Ellis was released by Jacksonville after training camp in 2017 and spent part of the 2017 season on the New Orleans Saints practice squad. He played in two games for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018 before landing on injured reserve. Ellis spent time on the practice squad and the 53-man roster with the Philadelphia Eagles last season, seeing action in three games. He was released by Philadelphia on July 17, 2020.
Kilgo, 28, was signed by the Patriots on Aug. 11, 2020. He spent part of the 2016 season on the New England 53-man roster and practice squad after being claimed off waivers from Denver on Nov. 28, 2016. The 6-foot-3, 312-pounder originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick (203rd overall) by the Broncos in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Maryland. Kilgo appeared in nine regular-season games as a rookie and was inactive for all three postseason games, including Super Bowl 50. He played in nine games for Denver in 2016 before being released.
After being released by the Patriots during training camp in 2017, Kilgo spent that season on the Jacksonville practice squad. He spent the 2018 offseason with Houston and began the season on the practice squad before joining the Tennessee practice squad. He was signed to the Titans 53-man roster in early September and played in 11 games, finishing with five tackles. Kilgo signed with Detroit in the 2019 offseason and spent the season on injured reserve. Overall, Kilgo has played in 29 career regular-season games as a reserve and posted 16 tackles and one pass defensed.
