FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have claimed rookie DL Gilbert Peña off waivers from the Green Bay Packers. To make room on the roster for Peña, the Patriots released rookie OL Brice Schwab.
Peña, 26, was originally signed by Green Bay as a rookie free agent out of Mississippi on May 10, 2013 and was released by the Packers on Aug. 25, 2013. The 6-foot-2, 330-pounder, was a two-year letterman at Mississippi, who played in 23 games with six starts and finished his career with 45 tackles (19 solos) and two sacks. Peña took four years off after high school to help provide for his family before beginning his college career at ASA College in New York for two seasons before earning a scholarship to Mississippi for his final two college seasons.
Schwab, 23, was signed by the Patriots on Aug. 2, 2013. He was originally signed by Tampa Bay as a rookie free agent on April 29, 2013, and was released by the Buccaneers on July 31, 2013. The 6-foot-7, 302-pounder, began his college career at Palomar Community College in 2009 before transferring to Arizona State in 2010. He started in 17 of 22 games that he played as a Sun Devil at right tackle.
