Foxboro, Mass.-The New England Patriots announced the signing of wide receiver Fred Coleman today to fill the vacant roster position on the 53-man roster. He will wear number 84.
Coleman, 26, was originally drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL draft. The 6-foot-0-inch, 190-pound wide receiver was a four-year letterman at Washington, where he finished fifth in school history with 1,588 career receiving yards on 97 receptions (eighth). He has gone to training camps with four different teams, beginning with the Bills in 1998, then Philadelphia in 1999, followed by the Jets in 2000 and the Chicago Bears in 2001. He spent the majority of his first two NFL seasons on the practice squads of the Bills (1998) and the Jets (1999). Earlier this year, Coleman played for the Chicago Enforcers of the XFL prior to signing with the Chicago Bears on April 24, 2000.
