The New England Patriots started the work week by dipping back into the free agent market, this time for a tight end.  Former Denver Broncos TE Daniel Fells has reportedly agreed to a deal to come to New England.

Fells, who is 28 years old, 6 foot 4, 272 pounds played his college ball at UC-Davis and went undrafted in 2006.  He signed as a rookie free agent with Atlanta in 2006, was on the practice squads of the Oakland Raiders (2007) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2008) before signing on with St. Louis in October of 2008.

After two plus seasons in St. Louis, one which ended with an IR stint, he moved onto Denver in 2011 where he became the Broncos starting tight end.

His signing is expected to open up the field more for Aaron Hernandez and allow him to be used in even more ways than he has been used in the past two seasons.

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The New England Patriots have signed free agent WR Brandon Lloyd to a three-year, $12 million deal.  Lloyd is a former member of the Denver Broncos and St. Louis Rams and has played for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in both places. 

Translated that means he knows the offense and is a legit deep threat for QB Tom Brady.

Lloyd, 30, is a Kansas City, MO native who played his college ball at Illinois.  He was a 4th round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 2003 NFL Draft.

The former Pro Bowl and All Pro selection has 31 career TD catches while also playing for Washington and Chicago.

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The New England Patriots are once again adding depth through solid veteran players without breaking the bank to do so.

Late Saturday afternoon it was learned that New England signed former Indianapolis Colts WR Anthony Gonzalez to a contract whose terms have no been disclosed.  Gonzalez, a first round pick out of Ohio State in 2007, has had three successive seasons cut short by injuries after having solid rookie and sophomore campaigns catching passes from Peyton Manning.

Gonzalez was placed on the season ending IR in both 2009 and 2010 and only saw action in 8 games in 2011.  When healthy the 27-year old slot receiver is extremely dangerous.  The low risk, high reward signing is insurance for the team in case WR Wes Welker decides not to report to camp and he adds depth behind Welker should the Pro Bowler either sign his franchise tender or get a long term deal.

The Gonzalez signing could also possibly push Julian Edelman to the other side of the ball.  Edelman, a quarterback in college that New England converted to wide receiver, has played several games in the secondary and has shown a penchant for playing on that side of the ball.

In addition to Gonzalez, the Patriots also signed free agent defensive end/outside linebacker Trevor Scott, formerly of the Oakland Raiders.  The 27-year old Scott reportedly received a one-year contract.  The Potsdam NY native played his college ball for University of Buffalo and was a 6th round pick by Oakland in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Scott went on the IR in November of 2010 with a torn ACL and although he played in all 16 games in 2011 the injury still hampered him.  At 6 foot 5, 255 pounds Scott has the versatility to play the line or as a linebacker and he could fill the role that Mark Anderson played last season or if Anderson returns he provides more depth at two positions.

The Patriots are also reportedly taking a visit this weekend from former Washington Redskins safety LaRon Landry who is reported to be high on Bill Belichick’s wish list.

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The New England Patriots dipped into the free agent market again and this time came out with safety Steven Gregory, formerly of the San Diego Chargers.  Gregory signed a three year contract worth between $2 million and $3 million a season.

The 5′ 11″, 195 pound safety, who grew up in Staten Island, went to Syracuse University.  He has also played cornerback as well as special teams since coming to the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2006.  In 2010, he was suspended for 4 games for PED use.

The speedy Gregory, 29, is expected to play along side S Patrick Chung and solidify the defensive backfield.

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Late Thursday afternoon it was learned that the New England Patriots have re-signed C/G/KR Dan Connolly.

Connolly filled in admirably at center for 13 games (11 starts) this season when C Dan Koppen was placed on the injured reserved.  Connolly also has the longest kick off return in NFL history by an offensive lineman when he returned a kick off 71-yards against Green Bay on December 19, 2010.

Connolly, 29, has been with the Patriots since 2007 when he was signed to the practice squad out of Southeast Missouri State after having previously been signed as an undrafted free agent by Jacksonville.

This could mean the end of Koppen, who is also a free agent, as Connolly was looking for starters money on the market.  Rumor was the Patriots preferred to move forward with Connolly instead of Koppen because he is three years younger.  Until the terms of the contract are released we won’t know how the Patriots view Connolly and if there is still a possible return in the making for Koppen.

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What has been reported and rumored for a few days now is official the New England Patriots have signed WR and special teams captain Matthew Slater to a new contract.  Terms have the deal have yet to be disclosed.

Slater also played some safety for team this past season when the defense was decimated by injuries.  He played in all 16 games and was elected to the Pro Bowl for the first time.

In addition the team has announced they have signed DT Marcus Harrison.  Harrison made a brief appearance with the team in 2011.  When I say brief, I mean brief, he was signed on a Friday and cut the next day.

Harrison, formerly played for the Chicago Bears, and attended the University of Arkansas.  The 27-year old was drafted in 2008 in the third round and has played in 17 games in three seasons with Chicago.

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Former Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Jonathan Fanene has left the Queen City for the chance at a title in Foxboro with the New England Patriots.  Fanene’s deal is reportedly for three years and $12 million with a signing bonus of just under $4 million.

Fanene, is 6-foot-4, 290 lbs. and 29 years old and a native of American Somoa.  He had 6.5 sacks in 2011 and 6 sacks in 2010. 

He is a legit run-stuffing end who can rush the passer from either inside or outside, and he is versatile and physical.

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According to several published reports this afternoon, the New England Patriots have signed WR Matthew Slater to a new contract.  Terms at this time are not available.

Slater was the Patriots special teams captain and led the squad in tackles and earned his first Pro Bowl selection.  He also saw some time at wide receiver and is expected to compete for spot as New England’s deep threat option on the outside.

Slater, the son of Football Hall of Fame member Jackie Slater, has played with the Patriots the last four seasons after having played his college ball at UCLA.

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The New England Patriots are bringing back their core special teams players from last season as they re-signed LB Tracy White and LB Niko Koutouvides of Plainville CT.

White was second on the team last year in special teams tackles behind special teams captain Matthew Slater. White, who is 31 years old, has played with five teams and is entering his third season in New England.  He did contribute toward the end of the season on defense when the injury bug bit the linebacking corps.

Koutouvides was brought in midway through the season to help solidify the special teams when they were having some issues.  He had been with Patriots in training camp after the lockout had ended but didn’t stick with the team at that time.  Apparently he had showed Bill Belichick and his staff enough to think of him when they needed some special teams help.

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On the first day of NFL free agency it is pretty quiet so far along the Foxboro front.  The team did as expected and placed the 2nd round tender on backup quarterback Bryan Hoyer which is worth $1.92 million.  What this means is a team can sign Hoyer to an offer sheet and if New England does not match it the other team only has to surrender a second round pick to the Patriots.

Bill Belichick and staff are gambling that no one will be willing to take that shot on Hoyer who New England really likes.  On the other hand to get a 2nd round pick back would be very good for a player who figures to sign elsewhere next season to pursue a starting job and the team would only get a 3rd round compensatory pick in return in that case.

The Patriots also gave DT Kyle Love his exclusive rights tender and he will now be back for at least another season. An exclusive rights free agent, is a player with two years of less who is not under contract.  If his team makes him an offer at the 3-year veteran minimum salary he has to take it or leave the NFL.  If no offer is made he is a free agent.

There is a high probability that the Patriots will look to give Love a 2-year contract much like they did with Kyle Arrington when he was in this position.  It gives Love a signing bonus and up front money in return for giving up one year of free agency.

There’s also been one unconfirmed rumor that New England is very close to re-signing WR Matthew Slater, their special teams captain and possible deep threat wide receiver.

At of the time of publication the possible signing of Slater has not happened although a few other wide receivers did sign deals last night.  Reggie Wayne went back to a Manning-less Indianapolis, former teammate Pierre Garcon is reportedly Washington bound, Marcus Colston stayed in New Orleans and Vincent Jackson got $55 million over five years from Tampa Bay.

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