With rookies scheduled to report for training camp in less than two weeks, the Patriots are inching closer to getting all their first-year players in the fold.
On Wednesday, it was learned that two more picks -- second-rounder Sebastian Vollmer and seventh-round selection Darryl Richard -- have agreed to contracts with New England. According to sources, Vollmer has agreed preliminarily to a deal, while Richard signed a four-year contract with the Patriots that one league source called “a pretty standard four-year deal.”
Currently, four of the 12 members of the 2009 draft class have agreed to contracts: second-round pick Darius Butler, fourth-round selection Rich Ohrnberger, sixth-round pick Myron Pryor and Richard have all signed deals, while Vollmer is expected to sign shortly.
The 24-year-old Vollmer, an offensive lineman out of the University of Houston, was the 58th overall pick in the 2009 draft. The fourth of four second-round picks by New England in April, he has one of the most unusual profiles of any draftee in franchise history.
At 6-foot-7 and 312 pounds, Vollmer — nicknamed “Sea Bass” — is a native of Germany who did not start playing football until he was 14 years old, but who went on to help his German school win a pair of national football titles. At Houston, he started as a tight end before making the switch to left tackle, where he would develop into an All-Conference USA first-teamer as a senior.
He likely projects as a left or right tackle in the NFL -- that’s where he has seen most of his time through the spring practice sessions.
“Vollmer is a big offensive tackle. He’s played both sides,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said shortly after he was selected by New England. “He’s played left side and also played right side at the East-West game.”
As for Richard, the seventh-round pick was the 234th overall selection in April, one of the Patriots' two seventh-round selections. His deal, which was first reported by Chris Gasper of The Boston Globe, is for four years. No numbers were disclosed, but multiple sources indicate he received a signing bonus of roughly $48,000.
(By way of comparison, wide receiver Sammie Stroughter of Oregon State — who was taken by Tampa Bay at No. 233, one pick ahead of Richard — received a four-year deal for $1.798 million with a $48,270 signing bonus.)
The 6-foot-3, 303-pound Richard turned 23 last month. He was a three-year starter at Georgia Tech and was named second-team all-ACC with 10 tackles for losses and four sacks in 2008. In all, Richard played in 51 games during his five-year college career (he was a medical redshirt for a torn ACL as a sophomore) and finished with 98 tackles -- including 32 for a loss -- and 12.5 quarterback sacks.
Known as one of the finest student-athletes in America, he graduated with high honors in three years and got his MBA. In addition, his Wonderlic score of 37 was the highest among all New England draftees.
His academic work certainly drew the admiration of his coach at Georgia Tech, Chan Gailey.
“It would be an understatement to say he is extremely smart,” Gailey told reporters who asked about Richard in 2007. “You sit down and have a conversation with him and he is mature way beyond his years. I’ve said before, I’m not so sure he couldn’t be president one day.”
“He’s tough, he’s smart, he works hard,” said Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio when asked about Richard earlier this spring. “We’ll put him in the mix and see how he does.”
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