Pats sign 2 free agents
The Patriots announced the signing of free agent offensive lineman Anthony Clement (11th year) and free-agent Chris Dunlap (1st year) today.
The signings give the Patriots 79 players on their present roster, a number which counts unsigned rookies Jerod Mayo and Terrence Wheatley. So the Patriots could still add one more player and be at the league's 80-man limit.
A bit on both players from the team's press release:
Clement, 32, is a veteran of 10 NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals (1998-2004), San Francisco 49ers (2005) and New York Jets (2006-07). The 6-foot-8-inch, 320-pound offensive tackle has played in 128 career games with 107 starts. He started at right tackle for the Jets in every game in each of the last two seasons. He was signed by the Jets as an unrestricted free agent on March 11, 2006 after spending the 2005 season with the 49ers, when he started six of 14 games for San Francisco. Clement spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Cardinals after being selected by Arizona in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft (36th overall) out of Louisiana-Lafayette. After playing in one game as a rookie in 1998, he went on to start 45 straight contests for the Cardinals from 1999-2001. He was the only Arizona player to participate in every offensive snap in 2001, a season during which the Cardinals allowed just 29 sacks, the second-lowest total in franchise history. He once again played every offensive snap for Arizona in 2003. Clement was released by the Jets on March 4, 2008.
Dunlap, 22, was originally signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent on May 14, 2007. The 5-foot-11-inch, 200-pound receiver participated in the Patriots' 2007 training camp before being released on Sept. 1, 2007. Dunlap attended Georgia Tech.
ANALYSIS: Clement and Dunlap are longer shots to make the roster. They fill out the depth chart in areas where the coaches might feel the club is a thin -- or where coaches might be looking to preserve some top-of-the-depth-chart players.
I watched almost every Jets game the past two years. It's been a very long time since I've seen a starting OT who was as bad as Anthony Clement. I don't even envision him making the Patriots as a backup.
Clement has a shot. Don't count him out yet, there's a reason he's stuck in the league for 11 yrs. It's tough to find vet OT's with Clement's size and strength. He is a much better run blocker than pass blocker but his weakness is technique and DS will coach that up. He is the opposite of Ross, the other other vet OT we signed. Ross is athletic and versatile while Clement lacks foot quickness but is very powerful with long arms. Unlike Ross he does not have a good burst, foot quickness or change of direction skills. Ross is better in pass protection and can redirect and recover and he can play multiple positions. But Ross lacks power and strength for a RT so he may be moved to G and thus the necessesity to sign Clement especially with the Kaczur situation still looming.
Mike,
I've heard Ross has a knee injury, is that true?
Hi Nikos, I did not hear that about Ross, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. When he signed, he was recovering from a collarbone injury after slipping off the step of his camper.
--Mike
what are the odds that the patriots would move clement, Ross or even hochstein to guard and mankins to RT...
i know Mankins is a probowler at Guard but he played tackle in college and i think he is the best player on that line regardless of the position... if he was to replace any current lineman i think he would be an upgrade just because he is the kind of guy that will succeed not matter what...
with ocallahan britt, ross clement and hochstein should the pats even flirt with the idea of keep Kaczur
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
ask reiss
Questions will be considered for Mike's mailbagbrowse this blog
by categoryINside Boston.com