Patriots sign Tate, Vollmer
Seven of 12 picks already in the fold
Patriots senior football adviser and chief negotiator Floyd Reese keeps churning out contracts for the team’s draft picks, and now has signed three of the team’s top five selections from April’s draft.
According to a league source, wide receiver Brandon Tate, the first of the team’s two third-round picks, inked a four-year deal with a $755,000 signing bonus and base salaries of $310,000, $395,000, $480,000, and $565,000. Offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer, the last of the team’s four second-round picks, also had his deal finalized yesterday, according to his agent, Leonard Roth. Roth did not provide details of Vollmer’s deal, but it is a four-year pact.
Vollmer (taken No. 58 overall) and Tate (No. 83 overall) join cornerback Darius Butler (second-round pick, No. 41 overall) as high-round picks who won’t have to worry about a holdout. The Patriots open training camp July 30, with rookies due to report July 26.
Counting wide receiver and converted quarterback Julian Edelman, a seventh-round pick who came to terms on a four-year deal with a $48,700 signing bonus, according to another league source, the Patriots have reached accords with seven of their NFL-high 12 draft picks - the Cowboys also drafted 12 players.
Roth praised the work of Reese and the team’s salary cap maven, Richard Miller.
“It’s exciting to get the deal done,’’ said Roth. “Working with Floyd Reese and Richard Miller, those guys are good and very fair, and we were able to get a deal done. We’re pleased and Sebastian is excited to get to work.’’
The 6-foot-8-inch, 315-pound Vollmer is a native of Germany who didn’t begin playing football until he was 14, but became a first-team Conference USA left tackle at the University of Houston. He has practiced at both tackle spots for the Patriots.
A wide receiver/kickoff and punt returner, Tate slipped in the draft because of a major knee injury that truncated his senior season and a report that he tested positive for marijuana at the Scouting Combine in February.
The 6-1, 195-pound Tate displayed explosive playmaking ability during his four seasons at the University of North Carolina. Tate set an NCAA record for combined kickoff and punt return yardage with 3,523 - breaking the mark set by former Patriots cornerback Deltha O’Neal - despite missing the final seven games of his senior season after he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee against Notre Dame.
He is one of only nine players in NCAA history to return a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in the same game.
Tate is still recovering from his knee injury. He had surgery Oct. 15 and could start the season on injured reserve.
According to the NFL’s substance abuse policy, draft-eligible players who test positive during the combine are eligible to enter the league’s substance abuse program, as recommended by the league’s medical adviser. While it is not automatic enrollment, most, if not all, first-time offenders are entered into the program.
The 6-foot, 198-pound Edelman is trying to make the switch from college quarterback to NFL wide receiver. As a QB, he led Kent State in rushing last season with 1,551 yards and 13 TDs in 215 attempts. During the offseason, Edelman also saw time as a kickoff returner and lined up at quarterback.
As of last night, the Patriots’ picks who had not yet reached or finalized deals were safety Patrick Chung, taken in the second round (No. 34 overall); nose tackle Ron Brace, a second-rounder out of Boston College; linebacker Tyrone McKenzie, the second of the team’s two third-rounders; offensive lineman George Bussey (fifth round); and long snapper Jake Ingram, a sixth-rounder.
McKenzie is out for the season after he tore the ACL in his right knee during rookie minicamp in May.
Brace is getting closer to a contract. Bussey is very close to a deal, and Ingram’s agent, Wynn Silberman, expressed optimism that his client would have one before too long.
“I think we’ll have a deal done pretty soon, in the next week or so,’’ said Silberman. “We’re just trying to iron out a few issues. It’s kind of a unique situation, so we just want to make sure we come to a fair deal for everyone.’’
The Patriots also officially announced the signing of defensive lineman Darryl Richard, the second of their two seventh-round picks. 