FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced today the signing of restricted free agent QB Brian Hoyer and unrestricted free agent WR Donte' Stallworth. Terms of the contracts were not announced. Stallworth spent the 2007 season with New England and finished with 46 receptions for 697 yards and three touchdowns.
Hoyer, 26, has served as the backup quarterback for three seasons since joining the Patriots as a rookie free agent on April 30, 2009 out of Michigan State. He has played in 13 NFL games, completing 27 of 43 pass attempts for 286 yards with one touchdown.
Stallworth, 31, is a veteran of nine NFL seasons with New Orleans (2002-05), Philadelphia (2006), New England (2007), Cleveland (2008), Baltimore (2010) and Washington (2011).
The 6-0, 220-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a first round draft pick (13th overall) of New Orleans in the 2002 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. He has played in 114 games with 59 starts and has 320 receptions for 4,774 yards and 34 touchdowns. Last season with Washington, he played in 11 games and finished with 22 receptions for 309 yards and two touchdowns.
Following four seasons with the Saints, Stallworth was traded to Philadelphia for LB Mark Simoneau on Aug. 28, 2006. He originally signed with New England as an unrestricted free agent on March 13, 2007. Stallworth joined Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent on March 1, 2008 and then signed free agent contracts with Baltimore in 2010 and Washington in 2011.
