FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed fifth-year cornerback Chidi Iwuoma to the 53-man roster today. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Additionally, the team announced the signing of first-year offensive tackle Sean Bubin to the practice squad.
Iwuoma, 28, has played in 70 career games with one start for the Detroit Lions (2001) and Pittsburgh Steelers (2002-05). The 5-foot-9-inch, 184-pound defensive back and special teams player has recorded 80 career special teams tackles in addition to 10 career defensive tackles (4 solo). Last season with the Steelers, Iwuoma was a co-captain of the special teams unit and finished second on the squad with 19 special teams tackles while seeing action in 15 regular-season games. In last season's playoffs, the California-Berkeley product led Pittsburgh with six special teams tackles while seeing action in all four of the Steelers' playoff games. Iwuoma was originally signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2001. He played in 13 games with one start for the Lions as a rookie in 2001 and was released by Detroit following 2002 training camp. Iwuoma was signed by the Steelers on Sept. 11, 2002 and went on to record 69 special teams tackles in 57 games for the Steelers over the next four seasons (2002-05). He recorded a career-high 19 special teams tackles in 2003 and matched that mark in 2005. Iwuoma was released by the Steelers on Sept. 6, 2006, the day before Pittsburgh's 2006 regular-season opener.
Bubin, 25, was originally selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-6-inch, 305-pound offensive tackle was a member of the Jaguars practice squad from the beginning of the 2004 season until Dec. 17, 2004, when he was signed to the active roster of the Detroit Lions. Bubin was listed as a day-of-game inactive player by the Lions for their final three games of the 2004 season. Last year, Bubin was a member of the Minnesota Vikings practice squad for the entire season. The Illinois product was allocated to the NFL Europe League in the spring of 2006 and played for the Hamburg Sea Devils. Bubin was with the Vikings for their 2006 training camp and was released on Aug. 17, 2006.
