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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots have signed cornerback Asante Samuel. Samuel was designated as the club’s franchise player on Feb. 16, 2007. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Additionally, the Patriots placed three players on the reserve/physically unable to perform list - wide receiver Troy Brown, wide receiver Chad Jackson and cornerback Eddie Jackson - and also placed rookie cornerback Mike Richardson on the reserve/injured list. Richardson will miss the 2007 season with a hand injury. New England also released rookie offensive lineman Chris Patrick. New England is in compliance with the NFL’s 75-man roster limit, which took effect at 4:00 p.m. EDT today. The Patriots have been granted a roster exemption for Samuel.

Samuel, 26, has played in 59 regular season games with 39 starts and has appeared in 11 playoff games with eight starts since being selected by the Patriots in the fourth round (120th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. The 5-foot-10-inch, 185-pound cornerback has recorded 16 career regular season interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns. The Central Florida product has also recorded four career postseason interceptions, including three returned for touchdowns. His three career playoff interceptions returned for touchdowns are tied for the all-time NFL lead with former Oakland Raider Willie Brown. In four NFL seasons, Samuel has also totaled 184 tackles (162 solo), 63 passes defensed and three forced fumbles.

In the 2006 regular season, Samuel tied Denver’s Champ Bailey for the NFL lead with 10 interceptions and also led the league with 24 passes defensed (Baltimore’s Chris McAlister finished second with 22). Samuel’s 10 interceptions were the highest regular season interception total by a Patriots player since 1964, when Ron Hall recorded a franchise-best 11 interceptions for the Boston Patriots. Samuel’s 24 passes defensed in 2006 were the second highest single-season total in franchise history, trailing only Ty Law’s 1998 franchise-record 27 passes defensed.

Samuel added two interceptions in the 2006 playoffs and returned both of them for touchdowns - a 36-yard touchdown return in a first-round playoff game against the New York Jets and a 39-yard scoring return in the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts. Samuel’s 12 total interceptions in the 2006 regular season and playoffs were the highest combined single-season total in Patriots history.