FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have signed WR Antonio Brown. Terms of the contract were not announced. In addition, the Patriots announced that they have released TE Lance Kendricks and DB Obi Melifonwu. The Patriots also released TE Stephen Anderson from the practice squad.
Brown, 31, is a veteran of nine NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2010-18). The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick (195th overall) of Pittsburgh out of Central Michigan in the 2010 NFL Draft. Brown was traded by Pittsburgh to Oakland on March 13, 2019 and released by Oakland on Sept. 7, 2019.
Brown has played in 130 games with 103 starts and totaled 837 receptions for 11,207 yards and 74 touchdown receptions. He also has 31 rushing attempts for 119 yards, 186 punt returns for 1,759 yards and four touchdowns and 47 kickoff returns for 1,173 yards and one touchdown. He has played in 10 postseason games with six starts, tallying 51 receptions for 837 yards and four touchdowns.
Brown is a four-time All-Pro (2014-17) and has been selected to seven Pro Bowls (2011, 2013-18). He leads the NFL in receptions and receiving yards since joining the NFL in 2010 and also led the NFL in receiving yards in 2014 and 2017.
Kendricks, 31, was signed by the Patriots on July 24, 2019. The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder is a veteran of eight NFL seasons with the St. Louis/L.A. Rams (2011-16) and the Green Bay Packers (2017-18). He originally entered the NFL as a 2011 second-round draft pick (47th overall) by the St. Louis Rams out of Wisconsin. Kendricks signed with Green Bay as a free agent on March 11, 2017. Overall, Kendricks has played in 125 regular-season games with 91 starts and totaled 241 receptions for 2,505 yards and 19 touchdowns. Last season with the Packers he played in all 16 games with three starts and posted 19 receptions for 170 yards and one touchdown.
Melifonwu, 25, was signed by the Patriots as a free agent on Nov. 6, 2018. He was originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round (56th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Connecticut. The 6-foot-4, 224-pounder began his rookie campaign on injured reserve before being activated to Oakland's 53-man roster on Nov. 4. He appeared in five games with one start and registered six tackles on defense and one on special teams before being placed on injured reserve on Dec. 15. Melifonwu's lone start for the Raiders came on Nov. 19, 2017, against the Patriots in Mexico City, where he made three tackles. He was placed on injured reserve by Oakland prior to the start of the 2018 season before being released on Oct. 23. He played in two games with the Patriots in 2018 in the regular season and one of the three postseason games.
Anderson, 26, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Houston Texans out of California on May 6, 2016. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder played in 28 regular-season games with five starts over two seasons in Houston and totaled 36 receptions for 435 yards and two touchdowns. Anderson also appeared in two 2016 postseason contests and did not accrue any statistics. He was released by Houston on Sept. 1, 2018, and signed by New England to the practice squad on Sept. 6, 2018. He joined the 53-man roster during last year's postseason and was inactive for all three games. Anderson was released by the Patriots on the final cut-down and was signed to the practice squad.
