The New England Patriots announced they had re-signed free agent DL Gerard Warren to a new contract.  Warren, 31, a 1^st round pick in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns out of the University of Florida returns to New England after having played there last season.

Warren who came to the team on draft weekend in 2010 had 28 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 16 games, 10 of which were starts.

In addition to Cleveland, he has also played with the Denver Broncos to whom he was traded on draft weekend in 2005 by the Browns.  After two seasons in Denver he was dealt again to the Oakland Raiders in August of 2007.  He stayed in Oakland for 3 seasons before signing as a free agent prior to last season with the Patriots.

He is expected to once again contribute on the newly revamped defensive line in 2011.

The Patriots also announce that they released S Brandon McGowan.  McGowan, who came to the NFL out of the University of Maine as an undrafted free agent in 2005, spent the last two seasons with New England.  He missed all of last season with a chest injury after being placed on the IR in September.  He was projected to be a special teams player this season.

Prior to coming to New England he played with the Chicago Bears for four years.  He has 184 tackles, 2 INT’s, 4 forced fumbles and 10 pass deflections in his career.

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New DE Shaun Ellis was at practice today, where he watched the full pads session in shorts.  Ellis signed this weekend after rebuking an offer of the veteran minimum of $910,000 and reduced playing time from the New York Jets.

After 11 seasons in the Meadowlands, Ellis says he feels disrespected by Jets.  He says he has a lot of respect for Jets coach Rex Ryan, “obviously it seems like it’s not mutual.”  When asked about the Jets-Patriots rivalry he added, “it’s the same. I’m just on the other side now.”

Ellis’ deal reportedly for $3 million plus $1 million in incentives.

A couple notes from the session today, newly acquired DL Andre Carter practiced, as did Warren.  An interesting note on Carter, as we told you yesterday his dad is former Bronco DL Rubin Carter.  Turns out Bill Belichick coached Rubin during his stint in Denver in 1978 when he coached under the legendary Red Miller.

TE Rob Gronkowski, G Dan Connolly and C/G Chris Morris were all dinged up during the session and did not finish practice. G Logan Mankins was also shaken up but did return.

The offensive line struggled today; the defensive line that seems to be gearing up for the season threw them around pretty good.  Folks, this offensive line is one of the best in the NFL and to be pretty much manhandled by the defense is saying a lot for that the side of the ball.

Patriots WR Chad Ochocinco and his fiancée, Evelyn Lozada were at Fenway Park for the Red Sox-Yankees game Sunday night.

The Patriots practice schedule for Tuesday is 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. with the Patriots Experience running from Noon to 5 p.m. Patriots’ practice on Wednesday, from 10-11:15 a.m., is in inside Gillette Stadium and open to the public.

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

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

The New England Patriots signed defensive end Andre Carter to a one-year contract.  Carter, a first round pick in the 2001 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers out of the University of California, has 442 tackles, 66 sacks and 1 safety in his career. Carter announced his own signing via Twitter.

He played with San Francisco from 2001 through 2005 where he started as a defensive end and was moved to outside linebacker when they shifted to a 3-4 defense.

In 2006, Carter signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Washington Redskins who moved him back to defensive end where he flourished until they changed last season to a 3-4 under new coach Mike Shanahan and he saw his playing time reduced.

Carter, whose real first name is Rubin, is the son of former Denver Broncos defensive lineman Rubin Carter who played in two Super Bowls.  His dad in honor of his Denver teammate and close friend, Andre Townsend, gave him his middle name.

The Patriots also announced Sunday night that they have released CB Thad Turner.  Turner an undrafted free agent out of Ohio University originally signed with Indianapolis before coming to New England as a practice squad member last November.

The team also placed OL Kyle Hix, a rookie free agent from the University of Texas, on the injured reserve list effectively ending his season.  Hix signed on July 27^th shortly after the lockout was lifted.  The team did not disclose what his injury is.

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Photo credit: AP Photo

According to NFL sources, the New England Patriots have signed former New York Jets DE Shaun Ellis to a one-year contract pending the passing of a physical.

Ellis, a 6’5” 290 lb. lineman, who worked out for New England late last week has spent his entire career with the Jets.  A former 1^st round pick out of Tennessee in the 2000 NFL Draft he was selected by New York with the pick they received from New England as compensation for the Patriots hiring Bill Belichick as head coach.  It now appears that Belichick will be able to coach the player he was once “traded” for.

Ellis is a two-time Pro Bowl selection and has 552 tackles, 72 sacks 13 forced fumbles and 1 INT in his 11-year NFL career.

Ellis is very familiar to the Patriots having hurt them with a big two-sack game in last year’s playoff game in Foxboro that the Jets won to advance to the AFC Championship game.

Ellis is a very versatile performer and can play end in either a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense.  With the Patriots looking more and more as if they will play a 4-3 or a 3-4 hybrid this move bodes well.  A potential front four could consist of 3 players with Pro Bowls on the their resumes with Vince Wilfork and Albert Haynesworth in the middle and Ellis and possibly second year player Jermaine Cunningham or Mark Anderson playing the other end.

Since becoming a starter in 2001, Ellis has missed just six games in his career.  The Jets were willing to bring Ellis back but head coach Rex Ryan said it would be at a reduction of playing time and the team was only offering the veteran’s minimum of $910,000.

Terms of the Patriots contract have not been disclosed.

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Photo credit: Getty Images

The New England Patriots held a public afternoon practice session on Saturday and 18 players including Albert Haynesworth and Brandon Spikes were not on the field. 

Also among those missing practice were T Matt Light and RB Kevin Faulk who are according to NFL officials on the “active/physically unable to perform” list.  Both had undergone surgeries Light for his shoulder and Faulk to repair his torn ACL.  DE Myron Pryor was on the field for the first time this season.

Some notes from the actual full pads practice DB Sergio Brown had the hit of the day according to observers when he plastered rookie RB Stevan Ridley on the 3 yard line during goal line drills.

It was a much better day for the receiving corps as TE Rob Gronkowski looked really good as did his fellow TE Aaron Hernandez who made three nice grabs in the end zone including one that was made one handed.  WR Chad Ochocinco also looked more in sync as he made a nice leaping catch over two defenders.

QB Tom Brady stayed after the workout and worked with WR Julian Edelman on routes and the like.  Brady even ran sprints when he was done.

It was noted by several observers that newly signed free agent DE Mark Anderson seems to be exceptionally quick getting into the backfield several times during the session.

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Place kicker Stephen Gostkowski says he has “no limitations” but that he isn’t doing the full load of kicking as of yet as he returns from a torn thigh muscle that ended his 2010 season.  He says, “I’m just trying to get healthy enough to get on the field everyday.  It’s just trying to be smart about it.”  Since replacing Adam Vinatieri, he has become the most accurate kicker in Patriots history and he and his booming kickoffs are important to the team when it comes to opponent’s field possession.

Say what you want about the defense but it surely appears that Bill Belichick is changing from a 3-4 to a 4-3 or 3-4 hybrid.  It appears he feels something had to be done after quick playoff exits the last two seasons.  He has seen both the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens chew up the Patriots with their post season running game.  The 4-3 is a much better run defense as you tend to clog the line and with big guys in the middle like Vince Wilfork and Haynesworth there will be a lot of clogging going on.

A 4-3 or some form of a 3-4 hybrid would allow players like Wilfork and Haynesworth to get into the backfield, get sacks and blow up run plays while avoiding the double teams that Wilfork constantly has run into the last few seasons without Richard Seymour on the end. It also allows LB Jerod Mayo to move from the inside to the weak side and use his athletic ability to play sideline to sideline and pursue like he did at Tennessee.  This also puts Spikes in the middle where he can shine as a very physical linebacker and puts Jermaine Cunningham on the end where he is more comfortable and he can blossom.

Remember if you take one part of someone’s game away, i.e. the run, they have to do something different.  When you know a team is going to pass because they can’t run you can get a better pass rush, which leads to better coverage.

Former Patriot WR Chad Jackson has signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders.

Just a reminder that the first preseason game is this Thursday at Gillette Stadium against Jacksonville.  Sox & Dawgs will bring you a shortened game preview later in the week.  It will be televised but only in the New England and Jacksonville markets.  If you miss the game or can’t get it NFL Network will re-play it Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.

The Patriots will still hold some public practices as they prepare or the Jaguars.  Here is the upcoming schedule that is always subject to change.

Sunday

There is no practice the players are off.

Monday

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

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

Tuesday

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

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

Patriots fans are amazing they’ve had nearly 16,000 combined at the last two practices on Friday and Saturday.

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

Let’s start with the Friday roster moves made by the New England Patriots.  They announced that they signed DE Mark Anderson to a contract.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Anderson started his career with the Chicago Bears where as a rookie in 2006 he had 12.5 sacks. The Bears released the 6’4” 255 lb. Tulsa OK native during the season in 2010 and he finished the last 11 games with the Houston Texans where he started two games.

Anderson who played his college ball at Alabama was a 5^th round pick of Chicago in the 2006 NFL Draft.  In his career he has 119 tackles, 5 forced fumbles and 23.5 sacks.  He is expected to compete for time at defensive end with Eric Moore and Jermaine Cunningham.

In order to accommodate the move the Patriots released DL Marlon Favorite who was signed to the practice squad in January 2011.  Favorite, an undrafted free agent from LSU, has never appeared in a regular season or post season NFL game.  He has been on the practice squad for the Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts in addition to the Patriots since 2009.

Favorite also saw time with the Hartford (CT) Colonials of the UFL.

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The Friday practice session saw no DL Mike Wright, LB Brandon Spikes, OT Matt Light or DT Albert Haynesworth.  There was no word on why they missed the session, which was run in full pads.  Several others missed the sessions with various injuries.

A couple notations from practice, G Logan Mankins was reportedly throwing people all over the place which bodes very well for QB Tom Brady while DT Kyle Love was steadfast in the goal line stand drill not allowing any movement at all while clogging the middle with DT Vince Wilfork.

It was mentioned that the receivers, as a group, had a better day today after several bad drops the last few days.  They still have work to do.

Brady met with the media after practice and said that there’s a lot of work to do in a short period of time, especially in getting timing with the receivers and he also said that that was the first time they ran the goal line plays this year.  Last year the goal line plays were put in during spring OTA’s.

A couple of contract notes, the new deal RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis signed was a one-year $1.835 million RFA tender not an extension.  Chad Ochocinco didn’t redo his deal he has one-year left at $6 million then he is a free agent and Albert Haynesworth’s base salaries the next four-years are $5.4 million in 2011; $6.7 million in 2012; $8.5 million in 2013; and $10.3 million in 2014.  While according to the NFLPA Matt Light has a $1 million base in 2011 and a $3.4 million base in 2012.

I forgot to mention that Connecticut native Eric Mangini has joined ESPN as a football analyst.  This is kind of hysterical and really an odd job choice for the former Patriots defensive coordinator and head coach of the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns seeing as he has a natural disdain for the media.

Former Patriots QB Kevin O’Connell signed a one-year contract with the Miami Dolphins who appear unsure if they want Chad Henne calling the signals in 2011.  This could be good for O’Connell maybe he will get a chance to challenge for the starting spot.

The Patriots announced their practice schedule.

Saturday

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

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

Next Week

The team will hold public practices the schedule is 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

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.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem