FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced today that they signed OL Josh Kline to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and placed DL Tommy Kelly on injured reserve with a knee injury.
Kline, 23, originally joined the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Kent State on May 3, 2013, and was released on Sept. 2, 2013, before being signed to the practice squad on Sept. 4, 2013. The 6-foot-3, 295-pounder was signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Sept. 7, the day before the Patriots opener at Buffalo. He dressed but did not play against the Bills. He was released from the 53-man roster on Sept. 11 and re-signed to the practice squad on Sept. 13. Kline saw action at right guard, right tackle and on special teams during his college career at Kent State. He earned second-team All-MAC honors as a senior in 2012.
Kelly, 32, is a veteran of 10 NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders (2004-12) and New England (2013) after originally entering the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Raiders out of Mississippi State in 2004. He was released by Oakland on March 27, 2013. The 6-foot-6, 310-pounder has played in 134 NFL games with 122 starts and has registered 442 total tackles, 36½ sacks, one interception, 15 passes defensed, nine forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in his career. This season with New England, he started all five games he appeared in and compiled 23 tackles, 2½ sacks and one fumble recovery. Kelly was injured during the Week 5 game at Cincinnati (10/6) and was inactive for the last three contests.
