FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots acquired WR Deion Branch in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks today in exchange for an undisclosed draft choice. In addition, the Patriots placed T Nick Kaczur on injured reserve with a back injury.
Branch, 5-9, 195 pounds, was originally selected by the Patriots in the second round (65th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft out of Louisville. He was traded by the Patriots to the Seattle Seahawks for an undisclosed draft pick on Sept. 11, 2006.
Branch played in 53 games with 43 starts for New England (2002-05) and caught 213 passes for 2,744 yards and 14 touchdowns in four seasons. In eight career playoff games with the Patriots, he recorded 41 receptions for 629 yards and two touchdowns. He totaled 21 receptions in two Super Bowl (XXVIII and XXXIX) victories with New England. Branch tallied a team-high 10 receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots' 32-29 Super Bowl win over the Carolina Panthers and was named Super Bowl MVP after tying a Super Bowl record with 11 receptions for 133 yards in the Patriots' 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Branch, who is in his ninth NFL season, has played in 104 games with 83 starts and has accumulated 403 receptions for 5,091 yards and 29 touchdowns. He has played in 11 postseason games with 10 starts overall and has 49 receptions for 725 yards and two touchdowns.
He started in three of four games in 2010 with Seattle and caught 13 passes for 112 yards and one touchdown.
Kaczur, 6-4, 315 pounds, has started 62 of 68 regular-season games in his five-year NFL career and has also started seven career playoff games. He missed all of the preseason games and the first four games of the season due to an injury that occurred in training camp.
