Wheatley in the fold; only Mayo left

Then there was one.

The Patriots reached an agreement with second-round draft pick Terrence Wheatley yesterday, leaving first-round selection Jerod Mayo as the team's lone unsigned pick heading into training camp tomorrow at 8:45 a.m. in Foxborough.

According to an NFL source, Wheatley signed a four-year deal averaging $648,750 per season. He received an $890,000 signing bonus and will carry a $295,000 base salary for 2008.

Wheatley, 23, was the ninth cornerback selected, taken 62d overall. The 5-foot-9-inch, 183-pounder finished his career at Colorado with 14 interceptions, tied for third in school history. As a senior, Wheatley was a first-team All-Big 12 selection, finishing with five interceptions and 12 passes defended.

Wheatley, who started 28 of 40 games for Colorado, underwent four surgeries on his right wrist in college and had a titanium rod inserted in it, but said at rookie camp his wrist is not an issue. Wheatley figures to compete with fellow rookie Jonathan Wilhite, veterans Jason Webster, Fernando Bryant, and Lewis Sanders, and second-year man Mike Richardson for time at cornerback.

Holdup on Mayo

There was no word on Mayo, the linebacker the Patriots took with the 10th selection. Sean Kiernan, Mayo's agent, didn't return calls seeking comment.

One possible hiccup in the negotiations could be that the player picked one spot ahead of Mayo is also a linebacker, Bengals rookie Keith Rivers. The signing of Rivers could provide parameters for Kiernan and the Patriots. However, Cincinnati doesn't open training camp until Monday.

The Patriots and Mayo's representative have the baseline of what last year's 10th pick received. Texans defensive tackle Amobi Okoye signed a six-year, $15.4 million deal with $12.7 million in bonuses/guarantees.

OL Bauta signs

The team signed rookie free agent offensive lineman Lavdrim Bauta. Bauta, 24, played three years at Duke before transferring to Villanova for his final season in 2006. As a senior, Bauta started 10 games at right tackle. His signing gives the Patriots 79 players under contract. The league limit is 80 . . . According to a league source, there is nothing imminent with the Patriots and free agent cornerback Ty Law or linebacker emeritus Junior Seau. There is a possibility Seau or Law could join the Patriots - the team has not closed the door on them - but it's not likely to happen prior to training camp.