Today the members of the NFLPA ratified the NFL CBA and the new league year was officially started.  With that newly signed free agents and players who restructured their contracts were officially able to practice.

One of the interesting components of the new CBA is that it allows for blood testing for HGH.  The NFL is the first major professional sports league to have HGH testing included in their CBA with its players.

In New England that meant the return of OG Logan Mankins and OT Matt Light to the field.  Mankins was involved in several heavy-hitting plays during practice with DT Albert Haynesworth.  Both players got the best of each other more than once during the session as they beat the snot out of each other.

After the session Mankins spoke to the media and he wanted to clarify that “me and Mr. Kraft never had a problem.  I never said he lied.”  This was in reference to the contract dispute that led to a long hold out last season.

This year Mankins was tagged as the franchise player and he signed a tender worth $10.1 million for the season.  He seems optimistic that a long-term contract can be worked out but he isn’t focusing on it.  He added that his relationship with Robert Kraft is in a good place.

When asked why he decided to sign the tender and come to camp he said, “I figured I’m being paid a lot of money.  I should put a full year in.”

Also during the practice the receivers had another tough day with several bad drops lead by newly acquired WR Chad Ochocinco.  TE Rob Gronkowski though had several big catches in the practice.  OL Sebastian Vollmer looked beastly beating on anyone who ventured in his space while on the defensive side of the ball DE Eric Moore was severely outplayed during the entire practice.  He was so disappointing today that you have to wonder if the Patriots are looking for another defensive end.

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With that said, today the team worked out former New York Jets DE Shaun Ellis.  The ironic thing there is the Jets selected Ellis with the supplemental pick they received from New England when the Patriots hired Bill Belichick as head coach.

Belichick commented prior to practice on Thursday that the team might end up having some scrimmages with another team.  The speculation is that the team would be Detroit as he and Lions head coach Jim Schwartz are very close and the teams play each other in 3^rd preseason game.

I wonder if the Patriots would have any interest in San Francisco 49ers S Taylor Mays.  The Niners sent out a mass email to the other 31 NFL teams saying they were looking to trade Mays.

Another player of possible interest could be former Seattle Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu.  Tatupu, who started his collegiate career at Maine before transferring to Southern Cal, is familiar with the organization as his late father Mosi Tatupu was a Patriots running back for 13 seasons and was a member of the Patriots Super Bowl XX team.

DE Raheem Brock who worked out for the Patriots on Wednesday has decided to return to Seattle he signed a one-year contract with the Seahawks today.

Rookie RB Shane Vereen pulled a hamstring in the Wednesday night Gillette Stadium practice and will miss some time during camp.

18,334 season ticket holders showed up Wednesday night for the Gillette session it was the highest turnout for the event in 5 seasons.

The Patriots announced their practice schedule for the next two days.

Friday

Practice will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Patriots Experience will be open from Noon until 5 p.m.

Saturday

The team will practice in the early afternoon.  Schedule TBA.

For all the latest training camp information go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.

Stay with Sox & Dawgs for all the latest Patriots news.  We will post larger signings and trades as soon as we can and will recap the minor moves near the end of the day.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

The New England Patriots finally reached a contract agreement with 2011 first round draft pick Nate Solder an offensive lineman from Colorado.   The 6’8” 320 lb. Denver native was the 17^th overall pick.

The former 1^st team All-Big 12 and consensus All-American signed a four-year contract worth $8.54 million with a signing bonus of $4.7 million.  Considered a very good pass blocker Solder was expected to compete for a starting job as a rookie but with the 132-day lockout followed by him missing the first 9 practices due to not having signed his contract that will not happen.

With the signing the team now has all nine draft picks under contract.

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What a busy day, lots going on today with the team not taking the field until 6:30 p.m. tonight as they hold a special practice session at Gillette Stadium for all the season ticket holders.  Team president Jonathan Kraft told the crowd before practice “it’s going to be a special season.”

So let’s start with some workouts.  The team worked out DE Raheem Brock today and he said on his twitter account that it went well and now “it’s decisions, decisions, decisions.”  Brock was one of the top pass rushers in the league last season in Seattle as 60% of the snaps he played led to quarterback pressures.

The team also worked out DE/OLB Quentin Moses today and there’s been no official word from the team on either workout.  Moses previously played for Miami.

Earlier in the week the Patriots worked out former Chicago DT Tommie Harris, he has signed with the Indianapolis Colts.  Former Patriots DL Ty Warren visited a few places since being cut and the Texas native selected Denver as his landing spot signing a two-year $10 million contract with the Broncos.  Also former New England S Jarrad Page has moved on he signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles.

While we are on potential moves, the other day the New York Giants told DE Osi Umenyiora and his agent they could try to find a trade on their own and if the Giants liked it they would do it.  Supposedly the team was looking for a 1^st round draft pick in return but the five teams who are interested, including the Patriots, have balked at the price.  Now this afternoon comes word that the Giants have pulled Umenyiora off the block.  In fact he was seen in Giants camp today riding the exercise bike.

Would the Patriots really go for Umenyiora?  A league official said they were just doing the “due diligence” but that seems like a high price to pay especially for a guy who wants a new deal.  Teams would be more willing to ante up if the Giants would go for a 2^nd or a 3^rd round pick instead.

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The team announced that restricted free agent RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis has signed a new contract and will be in camp Thursday.  Terms were not disclosed.

The Patriots also inked a couple of free agents; they signed C/G Chris Morris, OL Jonathan Compas and RB Richard Medlin, terms of the contracts were not released.  In return they released RB Tomas Clayton and OL Mike Berry.

Some player notes out of camp after the Tuesday workout.  DL Ron Brace may just be not playing himself out of a job.  He is currently on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list and while the rest of the defensive linemen are working hard Brace apparently has some unnamed issue that is keeping him off the field.

According to some of the media they think the Patriots will carry six wide receivers this season with Matt Slater being seen by the coaching staff as more of a special teams players.  Chad Ochocinco, Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Julian Edelman, Brandon Tate and Taylor Price look to be the six deep on the chart.

There’s also a battle going on in the defensive backfield behind Devin McCourty and Leigh Bodden for the third corner in the nickel set between rookie Ras-I Dowling, former UConn Husky Darius Butler and Jonathan Wilhite.

If the team were to go to 4-3 base from the 3-4 the most likely front line would be Jermaine Cunningham and Eric Moore on the ends with Vince Wilfork and Albert Haynesworth as the tackles.

Newly signed rookie RB Shane Vereen looks especially fast and you can most likely look for him in running downs with Green-Ellis.  While last year’s sensation, RB Danny Woodhead looks to get more snaps on sure passing downs.  It looks as though he will slowly displace veteran running backs Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris in that position if he proves he can handle it.

Former Patriots WR Randy Moss recently met privately with owner Robert Kraft just so he could offer his condolences for the loss of Kraft’s wife, Myra.  Say what you will about Moss but that is a class act.  Moss always said he loved his time in New England and he had the utmost respect for the Kraft family and the man went out and proved it.

NFL officials were in Foxboro tonight before the practice session to go over new and revised league rules with the players and coaches.  Media was also allowed to view the annual presentation the league gives to all 32 teams.  It was noted during the introduction that New England was 7^th in the NFL in defensive pass interference with ten and they were 1^st in offensive pass interference with six flags.  In all other categories they were in the bottom half of the league.

One of the calls the officials clarified was the horsecollar penalty.  It involves the jersey being pulled from behind not just the pads.

Another issue is the receiver and control of the ball.  You may recall, last year this was a huge problem when it cost the Detroit Lions a division game against the Chicago Bears when a touchdown was over ruled.  The receiver must maintain possession of the ball all the way down to and including contact with the ground.

There’s also a new way the roughing the passer penalty will be accessed.  It will no longer be a penalty if the defensive player makes incidental contact with the quarterback’s helmet with his hand or fingers.  There must be a forceful blow involved in order to draw a penalty flag on the defender.

There will also be a new emphasis on a defender launching himself into a hit on an offensive player.  One of the examples shown was Patriot DB Brandon Meriweather’s hit on former Baltimore Ravens TE Todd Heap that left Heap in a heap on the field and forced him from the game with a concussion.

And possibly the biggest change this year will be that coaches are no longer able to challenge touchdowns.  The league will have a replay official in the press box that will review each and every touchdown before signaling via buzzer to the field crew to allow the extra point attempt.

On plays in the end zone which do not result in a touchdown the offensive teams head coach can challenge the play to see if it should have been a score.  This would include attempted catches on the end line or sideline plays were the receiver was ruled out of bounds.  To see if a receiver was able to maintain control of the ball or a fumble would be some of the plays that could be challenged.

The Patriots announced their practice schedule for the next two days.

Thursday

Practice from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. This time is tentative as practice could be held earlier if the NFLPA and owners ratify the new CBA.

Friday

Practice will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

For all the latest training camp information go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.

In closing today is NFL MVP Tom Brady’s 34^th birthday.  When he came onto the field tonight at The Razor some fans started to sing “Happy Birthday” to him.  You have to wonder what a guy like Brady would even want for his birthday? Great job? Check. Hot supermodel wife? Check. Two good kids? Check.  Lot’s of money? Check. Well whatever he gets I bet it’s a damn good gift like a fourth Super Bowl title.

Stay with Sox & Dawgs for all the latest Patriots news.  We will post larger signings and trades as soon as we can and will recap the minor moves near the end of the day.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

The team was back on the field for one session today after having had Monday off.  The team did announce an additional signing besides those of Ras-I Dowling and Shane Vereen.  The signed undrafted free agent DE/LB Christian Cox out of Utah.  Cox, 25, was a pretty effective pass rusher in college.

After signing their new contracts veteran offensive linemen Logan Mankins and Matt Light are not allowed to practice until Thursday so they went out to the field and watched the afternoon practice session.

Also watching the practice were former Patriots LB and current ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi and owner Robert Kraft.  After practice QB Tom Brady came over and put his arm around Kraft as the two had a conversation.

Today’s practice was a full pads session. By my count, it was third full pads session of camp.  The quarterback play is still not sharp as all three made several short throws and had receivers jumping for others.

The defensive backs as a unit have been pretty impressive as of late playing very tight coverage and challenging for every ball.

The newcomers were also of note today as WR Chad Ochocinco looked very sharp running good routes and catching passes as he learns a new system.  DT Albert Haynesworth also is making progress and it was noted that he was much more involved in the goings on.

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Haynesworth also spoke with the media today after practice and you can see video of him speaking courtesy of the Boston Herald’s Rap Sheet blog.

The team also announced they worked out free agent OLB Matt Roth and C/G Chris Morris today.

Former Patriots OL Stephen Neal retired after last season and instead of enjoying his first summer off from football, the former NCAA wrestling champions is working at a camp.

The training camp schedule is as follows:

Wednesday

Practice at Gillette Stadium for season ticket holders only from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For all the latest training camp information go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.

Stay with Sox & Dawgs for all the latest Patriots news.  We will post larger signings and trades as soon as we can and will recap the minor moves near the end of the day.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

The New England Patriots inked two of their remaining three unsigned draft picks today when they signed DB Ras-I Dowling and RB Shane Vereen.  A 2^nd round pick, Dowling got a four-year contract worth $5.3 million with a $2.35 million signing bonus and other incentives according to a league source.

The terms of Vereen’s contract have not been released yet but it is expected to be a four-year deal as well for the 2^nd rounder out of California.

That only leaves first round pick OL Nate Solder unsigned.

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On Monday the players were given the day off due to new rules in the CBA which state that all teams must have one off day during the first week of training camp.  So while the players were away the coaching staff and front office were busy.

First off as we reported in the wee hours of the morning the team brought in former Chicago Bear DT Tommie Harris for a workout today.  Harris, 28, is a three time Pro Bowl selection and two time All-Pro selection out of Oklahoma.

There has been no word yet as of press time on how Harris’ workout and meeting with Bill Belichick and the staff went.

There was another camp casualty announced this evening the team released QB Jonathan Crompton.  The former Tennessee Volunteer was signed last November to the practice squad and in camp had slid to fourth on the depth chart behind 3^rd round pick Ryan Mallett, a former Arkansas Razorback.

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Speaking of Mallett, the NFL disallowed his contract and that of fellow draft pick RB Stevan Ridley due to some language in the pact which will need to be tweaked.  This is the third rookie contract the league has kicked back to the Patriots, so it looks like not everyone is quite up to all the nuances of the new CBA.

As for the three remaining unsigned draft picks, they’re still unsigned.  Right now there has been no movement on deals for Nate Solder, Ras-I Dowling and Shane Vereen.  Word is that agents are all looking to get the fourth year guaranteed and the Patriots, as well as other teams with unsigned picks, are balking.

With Matt Light back in the fold and the release of Crompton the team now has 88 players towards the 90-man roster limit.

The training camp schedule for the next few days is as follows:

Tuesday

Practice held from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday

Practice at Gillette Stadium for season ticket holders only from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For all the latest training camp information go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.

Stay with Sox & Dawgs for all the latest Patriots news through the free agent frenzy.   We will post larger signings and trades as soon as we can and will recap the minor moves near the end of the day.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

Former New England Patriots WR Randy Moss has decided to retire rather than pursue a contract with another NFL team.  Any hope Moss had of returning to New England was dashed last week when the team traded for disgruntled Cincinnati Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco.

A 13-year veteran, the 34-year old wide receiver is considered one of the Top 5 to ever play at that position, and quite possibly the best true deep threat to ever play the game.

Five times Moss lead the NFL in receiving TD’s for a season, in his career he had 29 TD catches of 50 yards or longer, second most all-time to only Jerry Rice.  He also had 10 1,000 plus yards seasons, 64 career 100 yard games and 153 TD catches all 2^nd all-time in NFL history.

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In 2007, his first season with the Patriots, Moss had a record setting year as he and NFL MVP Tom Brady teamed up for 23 TD’s of the record 50 Brady threw.  In fact on the same play that Brady set the record with his 50^th TD pass, Moss caught his NFL record 23^rd TD reception against the New York Giants in what would be the Patriots 16^th win of the season.  Moss finished 2007 with 98 total catches good for 1,493 yards.

Moss was a 1998 1^st round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings out of Marshall University.  After 7 seasons in Minnesota he was traded to Oakland were he spent two unproductive seasons.  It was a draft weekend trade to New England in 2007 that rejuvenated his career.  Just weeks into the 2010 season the Patriots traded Moss back to the Vikings were after just a couple weeks he was released by Minnesota following a blow up in the locker room.  He was placed on waivers and claimed by the Tennessee Titans where he played out the season without incident.

Moss was a five-time All Pro, a seven time Pro Bowl selection, MVP of the 2000 Pro Bowl Game, a member of the New England Patriots All-2000’s team and a member of the NFL’s 2000’s All-Decade Team.  He is also on the NFL Network’s Top 100 of All-time list.

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Photo credit: Getty Images

According to league sources, the New England Patriots have re-signed free agent offensive tackle Matt Light to a two-year contract.  Light, a 2^nd round draft choice in 2001 out of Purdue, was an unrestricted free agent and returns for his 11^th NFL season.

This is big new for the Patriots now with Light re-upping and Guard Logan Mankins having signed his franchise tender, Tom Brady’s very valuable backside is once again well protected for 2011.

Light, a 2007 All-Pro selection, has also been a three-time Pro Bowl selection and is a member of both the Patriots 50^th Anniversary and All-2000’s teams.  In addition to Brady and RB Kevin Faulk, they are the only remaining players to have been with the Patriots for all three Super Bowl victories.

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Photo credit: AP Photo

Former Chicago Bears DT Tommie Harris has been flown into Foxboro by the New England Patriots.  According to Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald, the team has scheduled a visit and work out for Harris on Monday morning.

Harris, a two time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection, had an off year in 2010 when he recorded only 2 sacks and 15 tackles in 15 games, and the 28-year old was cut following the season due to diminished production.  In 2008, he was a huge force in the middle of the Chicago defense sacking opponent’s quarterbacks 8 times and adding 35 tackles.

The 6’3”, 300 lb. Harris was drafted in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft by Chicago out of Oklahoma University.

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Photo credit: AP Photo

Well today was the trading deadline and as we all expected…oh wait sorry wrong sport.

Today was the 4^th day of training camp for the New England Patriots and the 6^th and 7^th sessions overall. Some quick notes from the practice today.

Media gathered for the session felt that the defense was better than the offense at this point which is understandable it’s like the pitchers being ahead of the hitters in February during spring training.

DT Albert Haynesworth passes his conditioning run and was on the field for practice today.  During the pads session in the afternoon he was involved in about half of the practice and it was reported that when he was on the field he looked “dominant”.  Also it was noted that when paired with Vince Wilfork inside the two were a wrecking crew and gave a glimpse of what it could look like in Foxboro this year.

Other stellar defenders were LB Brandon Spikes, who was a hitting machine, and by all accounts the best player on the field.  Other defenders earning praise from viewers were Jerod Mayo and Dane Fletcher.  DB Leigh Bodden looked good as well grabbing a pick on a Brian Hoyer pass.

The offense tended to struggle and everyone associated seemed to have a tough day.  The quarterback’s weren’t sharp, the running backs had a tough time hitting holes and holding onto the ball, the line had a tough time getting those holes open and the receivers had a case of the dropsy’s.

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WR Chad Ochocinco had a couple bad drops and leaped too early for another ball.  He spent an extra 20 minutes after practice with the DB coach Josh Boyer going over some stuff.

Aaron Hernandez struggled in blocking, while QB Tom Brady has some low throws and miscommunications with some of the receivers.

A pair of rookies QB Ryan Mallett and RB Stevan Ridley each had a fumble, as did RB Danny Woodhead.

Brady even stayed after practice to do some more running while Mallett hung around to work on his footwork.

While it may not have been great I believe this was only the second session in pads so far and the players missed a lot of time due to the lockout.  So things that would be worked on during OTA’s now have to be compressed into the short time they have in training camp.

One other note from camp Boston Celtic All-Star guard Rajon Rondo was seen hanging out during practice and made contact with some of the Patriots players.  The two teams have been linked the last few seasons with players from both teams supporting the other.

Earlier in the day Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio met with the media and he had a few things to day that were of interest.

First he expects “The Lawfirm” BenJarvus Green-Ellis to be in camp very shortly.  Green-Ellis is a restricted free agent and can sign with any team but New England can chose to match the offer.  It almost sounds like he is just going to end up re-signing with the Patriots this week.

He also noted that contract discussions are on going with OL Matt Light.  Hopefully they will have Light wrapped up and signed fairly shortly.

And on rookie Marcus Cannon, Cesario says “he looks great, he has done everything he has been asked to do and we’re optimistic.”  Current Cannon is on the Active/Non-Football Injury List due to his cancer treatments.

The team will not be practicing on Monday as they were given the day off. The new CBA calls for one day off during the first week of practice. For all the latest training camp information go to patriots.com/trainingcamp or call 508.549.0041.

Stay with Sox & Dawgs for all the latest Patriots news through the free agent frenzy.   We will post larger signings and trades as soon as we can and will recap the minor days near the end of the day.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem