Patriots WR Jabar Gaffney.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots re-signed veteran wide receiver Jabar Gaffney today. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Gaffney, 27, is a veteran of six NFL seasons with the Houston Texans (2002-05) and the Patriots (2006-07). He has played in 91 games with 63 starts and has caught 218 passes for 2,600 yards and 13 touchdowns.
"Jabar is a good fit for our offense," said Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick. "He has been a versatile and dependable player who steps up in whatever role is asked of him."
The 6-foot-1-inch, 200-pound wide receiver was signed by the Patriots as a free agent on Oct. 6, 2006, and has played in 27 games with 13 starts for the Patriots over the last two seasons. Last season, Gaffney played in all 16 games with seven starts and caught 36 passes for 449 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. His 36 receptions tied for fifth on the team, while his five touchdown receptions ranked fourth on the club. Gaffney caught 24 of his 36 passes in the final seven games of the regular season, placing him third on the team over that span behind Wes Welker (51) and Randy Moss (42). Additionally, four of Gaffney's five touchdown receptions came in the season's final seven games, trailing only Moss (11) on the team over that period. In 2006, Gaffney played in the final 11 games of the regular season for the Patriots and caught 11 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. In the 2006 playoffs, he started all three of New England's games and led the team with 21 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first player in NFL history to record back-to-back playoff games with eight or more catches for 100 or more yards in the same postseason, catching eight passes for 104 yards in a first-round playoff game against the New York Jets (1/7/07) and following that with a 10-catch performance for 103 yards the following week at San Diego (1/14/07).
The University of Florida product was selected by the Houston Texans in the second round (33rd overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft. Gaffney spent his first four NFL seasons with the Texans and played in 64 games with 50 starts for Houston over that period, recording 171 receptions for 2,009 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2005 with the Texans, he finished second on the team with a career-high 55 receptions for 492 yards and two touchdowns while playing in all 16 games with 13 starts. In 2004, he finished second on the team with a career-high 632 receiving yards on 41 catches, totaling two touchdowns while starting 12 of 16 games. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an unrestricted free agent on March 16, 2006 and was released in the final preseason roster cutdown on Sept. 2, 2006.
