Wed, 05/15/2013 - 5:08pm — Anonymous

The Patriots have released defensive tackle Kyle Love with a non-football injury designation. Love’s agent Richard Kopelman of KLASS Sports told ESPN that Love has recently been diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes.

Love, 26, is a 6-foot-1, 315-pounder out of Mississippi State who has spent three seasons in the NFL, all with the Patriots. His best season came in 2011 when he had 33 tackles and three sacks.

For more Patriots news, check out weei.com/patriots.

Brandon Bolden had a good rookie year, but could face some competition from LeGarrette Blount in 2013. (AP)It’s only May, but the way the Patriots roster is starting to shape up, there are going to be some intriguing positional battles that will loom this spring and summer in New England. Here’s an early look at what should be the best:



Tue, 05/14/2013 - 6:49pm — Anonymous

Despite reports he had inked a deal with the Patriots, seventh-round pick Steve Beauharnais has not come to terms with New England as of yet, according to his agent, Mook Williams.

Williams Tweeted Tuesday evening: “True to his comments after the [NFL Draft], Steve Beauharnais is presently focussed on his finals at Rutgers. No executed contract yet.”

Beauharnais, a seventh-round pick out of Rutgers, is a 6-foot-1, 240-pounder out of Rutgers who was taken 235th overall, and was one of three Scarlet Knights who was selected by the Patriots in this draft. Beauharnais finished his senior season with 77 tackles, 16 of them for a loss, to go along with five sacks and three interceptions.

Earlier in the day, the Patriots came to terms with third-round selection Duron Harmon.

Tue, 05/14/2013 - 6:08pm — Christopher Price

The Patriots have signed the second member of their 2013 draft class, as they have come to terms with linebacker Steve Beauharnais, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Beauharnais, a seventh-round pick out of Rutgers, is a 6-foot-1, 240-pounder out of Rutgers who was taken 235th overall, and was one of three Scarlet Knights who was selected by the Patriots in this draft. Beauharnais finished his senior season with 77 tackles, 16 of them for a loss, to go along with five sacks and three interceptions.

Tue, 05/14/2013 - 6:07pm — Anonymous

The Patriots have signed the second member of their 2013 draft class, as they have come to terms with linebacker Steve Beauharnais, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Beauharnais, a seventh-round pick out of Rutgers, is a 6-foot-1, 240-pounder out of Rutgers who was taken 235th overall, and was one of three Scarlet Knights who was selected by the Patriots in this draft. Beauharnais finished his senior season with 77 tackles, 16 of them for a loss, to go along with five sacks and three interceptions.

According to Wilson, Beauharnais signed a four-year $2.207 million deal that includes a $47,592 bonus. He joins third-round pick Duron Harmon as the two members of New England’s draft class who have come to terms with the Patriots.

For more Patriots news, check out weei.com/patriots.

Tue, 05/14/2013 - 5:55pm — Anonymous
Shane Vereen

Shane Vereen

FOXBORO — Exit Danny Woodhead, enter Shane Vereen.

In the wake of Woodhead’s decision to sign a free-agent deal with the Chargers this offseason, the 5-foot-9, 205-pound Vereen figures to take over the role of Patriots’ third-down back in 2013 on a full-time basis.

The Cal product, who got a small taste of the workload last season, flashed positively at times throughout the season, including a three- touchdown performance in the divisional playoff round against the Texans.

“What I learned from that [game] is that I can do it, confidence wise,” said Vereen, who had two receiving touchdowns and one rushing touchdown in the win. “It helps, but it’s a new season. Anything can happen. You’re starting from ground zero.”

Vereen, who finished the 2012 season with 62 carries for 251 yards and three touchdowns and eight catches for 149 yards and one touchdown, knows that it’s one thing to perform at a high level for a game here or there. It’s another thing to do it on a consistent basis, something that’s eluded the 24-year-old over his first two seasons in the league for a couple reasons: One, Woodhead was ahead of him on the depth chart, and his durability and skills allowed him to get the bulk of the snaps as the primary third-down option out of the backfield.

“It’s going to be hard to replace a guy like Woody,” Vereen said of Woodhead, who in 2012 became the first New England running back to finish a season with at least 40 catches and 40 carries since Kevin Faulk did it in 2008. “He had a lot of experience. He had a lot of knowledge. He’s a smart player. His role was pretty key to the team. I learned a lot from him. You can’t really replace him. All you can do is move on and hope to get better from there.”

And two, Vereen struggled with injury at times over his first two seasons, including hamstring and foot issues.

“Injuries are never good — it’s always frustrating,” he said. “You want to be out there as much as possible, so when I’m not, it’s disheartening. But I’m out there now, and I’m trying to stay as healthy as possible.”

Now, this Golden Bear realizes he has a golden opportunity. As a result, he’s sharpened his focus, saying that he’s approaching the 2013 season “a little bit differently than I did last season” when it comes to his role on the team.

“There’s a little more focus on my part. There has to be,” he said. “[I need to] just be more consistent. More reliable. That comes with practice and that comes with time, so hopefully we’ll get there,” he said Tuesday in between workouts at Gillette Stadium.”

“I was ready to play, probably last week,” he added. “Just getting back and getting the itch for it. You kind of miss it now that we’ve been out a couple of months. It’s coming. It’ll be here faster than we realize. The itch is back.”

Tue, 05/14/2013 - 5:32pm — Christopher Price

The Patriots have signed third-round pick Duron Harmon. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Harmon, a defensive back out of Rutgers who was taken with the 91st overall pick, is the first member of New England’s eight-man draft class to come to terms on a rookie contract.

As a senior at Rutgers, Harmon had 50 tackles and seven pass breakups while starting all 13 games for the Scarlet Knights, and came away with his second consecutive first-team all-Big East nod.

Tue, 05/14/2013 - 5:32pm — Anonymous
Duron Harmon

Duron Harmon

The Patriots have signed third-round pick Duron Harmon. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Harmon, a defensive back out of Rutgers who was taken with the 91st overall pick, is the first member of New England’s eight-man draft class to come to terms on a rookie contract.

As a senior at Rutgers, Harmon had 50 tackles and seven pass breakups while starting all 13 games for the Scarlet Knights, and came away with his second consecutive first-team all-Big East nod.

No contract information was immediately available, but last year’s 91st overall pick was Southern Miss tackle Lamar Holmes, who went to the Falcons. He signed a four-year, $2.633 million contract that included a $533,600 signing bonus.

For more Patriots news, check out weei.com/patriots.

Tue, 05/14/2013 - 1:17pm — Anonymous
Donald Jones

Donald Jones

FOXBORO — Donald Jones already had a rep by the time he showed up in New England for his free agent visit this offseason. The wide receiver had strung together some impressive stretches with the Bills over the course of his three-year career, including 18 catches for 319 yards and two touchdowns against the Patriots.

Of course, the New England braintrust also recognized him as being the unlucky fellow on the receiving end of this shot from defensive lineman Vince Wilfork which took place in last September’s Patriots-Bills game in Buffalo.

“It was a middle screen,” Jones said when asked to recall how the play developed. “I don’t even really remember how Vince ended up right there when I caught the ball. He was right there, so…. He read it well and he just caught me in the air. I guess that’s something d-linemen always hope for: to catch a wide receiver coming over the middle. So he got his thing that he always hopes for, I guess.”

The shot was one of the biggest hits of the year for the New England defense. As for Jones — who signed a free-agent deal with the Patriots in March — it has followed him here to Foxboro.

“I talked to [Vince] about it. Guys make jokes about it all the time. They bring it up,” he said during a break from the offseason workout program at Gillette Stadium. “At the same time they’d make a joke and then at the end they’ll try to fix it over by saying ‘You got up anyway though, so it’s all good.

“You know, it actually looked a lot worse than it was. It didn’t hurt. I’m sure if he landed on me it would have hurt a lot more. He caught me in the air, so the hit didn’t hurt or anything. That was not the hardest hit that I’ve taken.”

Of course, Jones is much more than just a speedbump for defensive linemen. The 6-foot, 208-pounder is a Youngstown State product who spent three seasons in the league, all with the Bills, and has 82 career receptions. His best year came in 2012 when he caught 41 passes for 443 yards and four touchdowns.

He enters a position that’s in a state of flux for the Patriots — only one guy on the current roster caught a pass from Tom Brady last season (Julian Edelman). Jones competing with new faces like veterans Danny Amendola and Mike Jenkins and rookies Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce. Jones welcomes the competition.

“When you get into the NFL, every year is going to be competition,” he said. “Every year in Buffalo we had 10 receivers, 11 receivers, so you have to have a bunch of receivers going into camp because guys get hurt, things like that. As far as the competition, I’ve been competing every year since I got into the NFL, so it’s not going to be any different here. I’m working with the quarterbacks so when we get into OTAs and moving forward into camp and the preseason games, everybody is on one [page].

“Everybody’s new so everybody’s working together so that we can learn the playbook together,” he said. “It’s not like one guy is coming in and every guy is above him in terms of the playbook and things like that. Everybody’s coming in at the same level. So we’re all working together to learn the playbook. We’re all working together in the weight room, things like that, so we’re ready to compete against the defense come next week.”

Two things that are different for Jones: the quarterback and the playbook. Like all the new pass catchers on the roster, he’s taking every opportunity to work with Brady.

“Everyday we’re out and we’re [throwing] out in the bubble or outside,” Jones said. “We talk Buffalo, just because it’s a rival team. He’ll always have jokes with me about cheating in a drill or something like that. It’s real good to be able to work alongside one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, so I’m excited.

“Here, the playbook is a lot more difficult than anywhere I’ve been,” he added. “Youngstown was easy. It was a simple college playbook. Buffalo it got harder but once you get it, you get it. Here, they keep you on your toes. They switch a lot of things up week to week, so you have to constantly be on your 1s and 2s and paying attention to what they’re saying. Because if you get out there and mess it up, you’re going to be on the bench and Tom’s not throwing to you. You just have to make sure you’re in your playbook at all times and studying what you have to do.”

Mon, 05/13/2013 - 5:17pm — Christopher Price

The Patriots released Brandon Deaderick Monday afternoon, cutting ties with the defensive lineman who was a seventh-round pick of New England in 2010.