Bobby Carpenter #59 of the Detroit Lions dives to tackle Alex Smith #11 of the San Francisco 49ers during a NFL game against the at Ford Field on October 16, 2011 in Detroit, Michigan.

The New England Patriots added another linebacker to their roster on Thursday when they signed former Ohio State standout Bobby Carpenter.

Carpenter, who played along side A.J. Hawk at Ohio State, was a first round draft pick (18th overall) of the Dallas Cowboys in the 2006 NFL Draft.  He never lived up to the hype in Dallas and in four seasons failed to secure a starting job.

Prior to the 2010 season, he was traded by Dallas to St. Louis and was cut at the conclusion of training camp.

He signed with Miami but was released about a month later.  Detroit picked him up as a free agent in late October 2010 and played there the last two seasons.

Terms of the contract were not revealed but like many of this year’s free agents signed by the Patriots expect it to be extremely team friendly.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

photo credit: Getty Images