Pats shuffle roster
NFL. The Patriots made a series of moves yesterday afternoon, activating Troy Brown from the physically unable to perform list so the veteran wide receiver can rejoin the active roster for his 15th season in New England.
In addition, the Patriots placed linebacker Rosevelt Colvin on injured reserve, ending his season after an apparent injury in Sunday night’s 31-28 win over the Eagles. The team also waived defensive lineman Kareem Brown and signed linebacker Chad Brown.
Troy Brown is a triple threat — the 36-year-old has played offense, defense and special teams in his 14 years with the Patriots — but joins an already deep receiver corps that underwent a major overhaul in the offseason. Newcomers like Randy Moss (71 catches, 1,095 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns) and Wes Welker (81 catches, 878 receiving yards and seven touchdowns) have given a serious jolt to the New England passing game — both Moss and Welker are seriously threatening Brown’s team record for most catches in a season (101, set in 2001).
But it’s not likely Moss will have a problem sharing the ball with fellow Marshall product Brown — No. 81 has told reporters that he was just the second-best receiver to play for the Thundering Herd.
“You see what he’s done in the past and his Super Bowl experience, his punt return against the Pittsburgh Steelers. … There are things I love in the game that you have to pay attention to,” Moss said of Brown in April. “Troy being from Marshall, me being from Marshall, like I’ve always said, he started the trend of guys going into the league from Marshall.”
Brown is the longest-tenured Patriot, an eighth-round pick back in 1993 who has racked up 557 career receptions (best in franchise history), and 6,366 yards receiving (second all-time in franchise history). The 5-foot-10, 193-pounder has also starred on special teams — he’s the team’s leading punt returner with 246 returns for 2,570 yards over the course of his career, and his three punt runbacks for touchdowns ties Irving Fryar for the team record.
He also brings value on defense — he’s seen part-time duty at defensive back. In 2004, he was pressed into service as a corner, and finished the season with 14 tackles and three interceptions. His versatility has drawn the respect of Head Coach Bill Belichick.
“Troy Brown,” Belichick has said on more than one occasion, “is a football-playing dude.”
As for Colvin, this will mark the second time in his five-year career with the Patriots that his season will come to a premature end. The linebacker suffered a hip injury in the second game in 2003, and was placed on season-ending injured reserve that year, his first with the Patriots.
There was some question as to what exactly sidelined Colvin, but Belichick said Monday that he had suffered a foot injury.
“It was announced as a foot? Then we’ll leave it with that announcement,” Belichick said. “Was that what [we] announced? If that's what [we] announced, then we'll stand by that announcement.”
It’s likely that Chad Brown will take some of Colvin’s snaps. The 36-year-old linebacker is well-known around Gillette Stadium — he’s already been signed and released by New England twice this season. He’s played one game for the Patriots this year and made two tackles on special teams. Kareem Brown, 23, a fourth-round draft pick from Miami, was inactive for each of New England’s first 11 games this year, and appears an excellent candidate to be re-signed to the practice squad.