FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots released veteran cornerback Tyrone Poole today.
Poole, 33, is a veteran of 10 NFL seasons and played in 22 games with 21 starts for the Patriots after joining the team as an unrestricted free agent on March 11, 2003. In his career, the 5-foot-9-inch, 188-pound cornerback has played in 130 games with 110 starts and has recorded 497 tackles (428 solo), five sacks, 17 interceptions, 133 passes defensed, 10 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
Poole's 2004 and 2005 seasons were cut short by injuries, as he played in a total of six games over those two years. In 2004, he started four of five games before landing on injured reserve on Dec. 18, 2004. Last season, he started the season opener, but did not appear in another game and was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 27, 2005.
Poole was originally selected by the Carolina Panthers in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft out of Fort Valley State. He was with Carolina (1995-97), Indianapolis (1998-2000) and Denver (2001-02) before arriving in New England prior to the 2003 season. In his first year with the Patriots (2003), Poole started all 16 regular-season games and all three playoff games as the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVIII. That season, he tied for the team lead and ranked second in the AFC with six interceptions, and his 21 passes defensed ranked fourth in the NFL.
