The New England Patriots announced on Tuesday that they have activated 2011 5th round draft pick Marcus Cannon and placed him on the 53-man roster. Cannon, 23, had been on the reserve/non-football injury list due to a recovery from cancer.
The offensive lineman is 6 foot five inches and 358 pounds. He appeared in 49 games while at TCU and started 36 contests, 24 at right tackle and 12 at left tackle. In his final two seasons at TCU Cannon did not allow a sack.
This is a great day for Cannon, who at first wasn’t expected to play this season. He studied the playbook, attended all the offense meetings and did his weight training. Both head coach Bill Belichick and Director of Player personnel Nick Caserio raved about his work ethic.
Then about the same time the PUP list players started to practice he was finally on the field practicing and wasn’t expected to see any playing time but something along the way changed and here he is.
Cannon is said to be smart and a student of the game and prior to his cancer diagnosis was considered one of the top senior offensive linemen in the country.
In order to make room for Cannon the Patriots released the usual suspect S Ross Ventrone.
In a third roster move the team re-signed 2011 7th round draft pick Malcolm Williams to the practice squad. Williams and Cannon were teammates at TCU.
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Photo credit: AP Photo
