FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed veteran free agent cornerback Eric Warfield today. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Warfield, 30, joins the Patriots to begin his ninth NFL season after spending his previous eight years as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. The 6-foot, 200-pound cornerback has played in 115 career games with 77 career starts and has totaled 393 career tackles (317 solo), 20 interceptions for 236 yards and three touchdowns, one sack, 63 passes defensed, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 31 special teams tackles. Warfield has started 73 of the last 74 games in which he has played, dating back to the start of the 2001 season.
Last season, the Nebraska product played in 11 games with 10 starts and set a single-game career high with 14 tackles (12 solo) against Oakland on Nov. 6, 2005. He also recorded his third career interception return for a touchdown, a 57-yarder against Houston on Nov. 20, 2005.
Over a four-year period from 2001-04, the Vicksburg, Miss. native started all but one game for the Chiefs while recording exactly four interceptions each season. Warfield set a career high with 77 tackles in his first year as a full-time starter in 2001 and then matched the mark two seasons later.
Warfield was originally drafted by the Chiefs in the seventh round (216th overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played mostly on special teams in 12 games as a rookie before earning the job as Kansas City's nickel cornerback in 1999. He played in 13 games with three starts in 2000 before earning a full-time starting job in 2001. He was released by the Chiefs on March 2, 2006.
