FOXBORO -- The Patriots have activated tight end Visanthe Shiancoe off injured reserve and added him to the 53-man roster from the injured reserve list. He was placed on the injured reserve with a designation to return on Sept. 5, 2012 and was added after Brandon Bolden was suspended by the NFL on Friday for four games due to violation of the league's performance enhancement policy.
Shiancoe, 32, signed with the Patriots as a free agent on July 25, 2012. The 6-foot-4, 250-pounder is a veteran of nine seasons with the New York Giants (2003-06) and Minnesota Vikings (2007-11).
The move gives the Patriots five active tight ends on the roster, as Shiancoe joins Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells and Michael Hoomanawanui.
As far as how he might be used, Bill Belichick gave some insight on Friday before practice.
“I think when you look back at his career, he’s done both,” Belichick said. “I don’t know, we’ve had him but not for very much time and no games, so we’ll see how it goes in our offense if we’re able to get that point. I don’t know.”
He originally entered the NFL as a third-round draft choice (91st overall) of the Giants in 2003 out of Morgan State and joined Minnesota as an unrestricted free agent on March 3, 2007. Shiancoe has played in 144 NFL games with 90 starts and has 243 receptions for 2,677 yards and 27 touchdowns.
For more, visit the Patriots team page at weei.com/patriots [1].
Links:
[1] http://www.weei.com/patriots
[2] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/patriots