FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced that they have signed WR Kenny Britt and re-signed DL Ricky Jean Francois. Terms of the contracts were not announced.
To make room on the roster, the Patriots released LB Jonathan Freeny and WR Bernard Reedy. New England also placed OL Marcus Cannon on Injured Reserve.
Britt, 29, Britt was released by Cleveland on Dec. 8, 2017, after playing in nine games with four starts. He caught 18 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns for the Browns this season. The 6-foot-3, 223-pounder has played with the Tennessee Titans (2009-13), the St. Louis/L.A. Rams (2014-16) and Cleveland (2017). Britt originally entered the NFL as a first round draft pick (30th overall) out of Rutgers by Tennessee in the 2009 NFL Draft. He was signed by the St. Louis Rams as an unrestricted free agent on April 7, 2014, and by Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent on March 9, 2017.
Britt has played in 113 games with 76 starts and totaled 327 receptions for 5,114 yards with 32 touchdowns in his career. Britt's best statistical season was in 2016 with the L.A. Rams after finishing with 68 receptions for 1,002 yards and five touchdowns.
Jean Francois, 31, was originally signed by New England to the 53-man roster on Nov. 7, 2017. The 6-foot-3, 313-pounder appeared in three games as a reserve for the Patriots and made three tackles before being released on December 2. Jean Francois played in six games this season for Green Bay before being released on November 1. He has played for San Francisco (2009-12), Indianapolis (2013-14), Washington (2015-16) and Green Bay (2017). He originally entered the NFL as a seventh round draft pick (244th overall) by San Francisco out of Louisiana State in the 2009 NFL Draft. After four seasons with the 49ers, he joined Indianapolis as an unrestricted free agent on March 14, 2013. After being released by the Colts on Feb. 23, 2015, he signed with Washington on Feb. 27, 2015, and played with the Redskins for two seasons before being signed by Green Bay as an unrestricted free agent on March 23, 2017.
Cannon started at right tackle in seven of the Patriots first eight games this season before suffering an ankle injury. He was inactive Weeks 10-14.
Freeny, 28, was signed by New England to the 53-man roster on Dec. 6, 2017. He appeared in one game and made two tackles. The 6-foot-2, 255-pounder spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons with New England before being released following training camp this past summer on the final cut-down on September 2. Freeny spent time with Baltimore and Jacksonville after being released by New England. He played in three games with Baltimore this season.
Freeny originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Miami out of Rutgers in 2011. After spending his first season on the Dolphins practice squad, he played the next three seasons playing for Miami (2012-14), before being signed as a free agent by New England on March 11, 2015. He has played in 66 NFL games with 11 starts and has 70 tackles on defense and 29 special teams tackles. Freeny has played in 19 games with 11 starts for the Patriots with 55 total tackles.
Reedy, 26, was signed by New England to the practice squad on Nov. 22, 2017, and elevated to the 53-man roster on December 2. The 5-foot-9, 175-pounder appeared in two games with the Patriots as a returner and totaled 32 yards on four punt returns. Reedy previously played in nine games this season for Tampa Bay and caught two passes for 21 yards and accrued 17 yards on three rushing attempts before being released on November 17. Reedy originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Atlanta Falcons on May 12, 2014, out of Toledo. He spent his rookie season on the Atlanta practice squad and was released at the end of training camp on Sept. 2, 2015. Reedy signed with Tampa Bay on Feb. 5, 2016, and was released prior to the start of the regular season on Sept. 7, 2016. He signed with the Tampa Bay practice squad on Dec. 6, 2016, and was added to the 53-man roster on Dec. 21, 2016. He was inactive for the final two games of the regular season that year.
