Patriots Notebook

Crable, Warren among five on PUP list

By Christopher L. Gasper

Globe Staff / July 28, 2009

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The training camp competition to replace Mike Vrabel at outside linebacker is already a man down.

According to an NFL source, second-year outside linebacker Shawn Crable joined veteran left defensive end Ty Warren on the physically unable to perform list.

Rookie offensive lineman and fourth-round pick Rich Ohrnberger, offensive tackle Mark LeVoir (shoulder injury), and rookie defensive lineman and seventh-round pick Darryl Richard also will open camp on the PUP. Training camp begins Thursday.

Crable, a 2008 third-round pick, was expected to compete with Pierre Woods, Vince Redd, and Tully Banta-Cain for playing time at outside linebacker. Crable’s inclusion on the PUP list is a surprise. He participated in organized team activities during the offseason and was on the field for mandatory minicamp in June.

Last season, Crable didn’t play a down. He was inactive for eight games before he was placed on season-ending injured reserve with a shin injury.

Warren, who missed three games last season with a torn left groin, had surgery on his left and right groins in January and also had a procedure to clean up his right knee in February. In April, Warren told the Globe he thought he’d be ready for training camp.

All five players were placed on the active/PUP list, which means they will be eligible to return during training camp, when the team deems them ready. Reserve/PUP dictates that a player must sit out the first six weeks of the regular season before he can be activated.

The Patriots placed rookie wide receiver and third-round pick Brandon Tate, who is rehabbing a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and first-year offensive lineman Jermail Porter, a converted college wrestler, on the active/non-football injury list (NFI). Like players on PUP, Tate and Porter are eligible to come off active/NFI if and when the team considers them ready to participate in camp.

Two to go

The Patriots finalized a contract with their top draft choice yesterday, inking safety Patrick Chung to deal that leaves the club with two unsigned rookies - injured linebacker Tyrone McKenzie (third round) and long snapper Jake Ingram (sixth round). Terms of Chung’s contract were not disclosed, but it was expected to be a four-year deal. Rookies were scheduled to report for meetings and physicals Sunday, and the parameters of Chung’s deal were in place so he could attend. Veterans are due to report tomorrow, with the first, official full-team practice on Thursday. The 5-foot-11-inch, 212-pound Chung was one of the most productive players in April’s NFL draft, starting all 51 games in which he played at Oregon. His 384 tackles rank fourth on the Ducks’ all-time list. As for McKenzie, there isn’t urgency to strike a deal because he tore his ACL in rookie minicamp and is expected to be sidelined for the season. Ingram is slated to compete with veteran Nathan Hodel for the job held by Lonie Paxton the past nine seasons . . . The Patriots are hosting rookie Missouri defensive end/outside linebacker Stryker Sulak on a visit today, his agent, Bob Lattinville, said. Sulak was a sixth-round draft choice of the Raiders, 199th overall, but was waived before signing a contract.

Mike Reiss of the Globe staff contributed to this report.