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Pats release Banta-Cain

Print | Comments () Posted by Christopher L. Gasper, Globe Staff October 19, 2009 06:21 PM

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According to multiple league sources, the Patriots have released outside linebacker/defensive end Tully Banta-Cain.

Banta-Cain was tied with defensive lineman Mike Wright for the team lead in sacks with three and had started two of the team's six games. He did not start on Sunday and was credited with three tackles against the Titans.

The 29-year-old Banta-Cain was in his second stint with the Patriots. A 2003 seventh-round pick of the team out of the University of California, Banta-Cain played for the Patriots from 2003 to 2006 as a reserve.

A San Francisco Bay Area native, he left after the 2006 season to sign a free agent deal with the San Francisco 49ers and played for the Niners in 2007 and 2008, collecting a total of four sacks, before returning to the Patriots this season.

Banta-Cain had a one-year deal with a base salary of $620,000.