FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced the signing of third round draft pick QB Ryan Mallett and fifth round draft pick OL Marcus Cannon. Terms of the contracts were not announced.
In addition, the Patriots released LB Tully Banta-Cain, CB Tony Carter, TE Alge Crumpler, T Nick Kaczur, DL Marcus Stroud, DL Ty Warren and rookie free agent LB Ryan Coulson from Nevada.
2011 DRAFT PICK SIGNINGS
Mallett, a quarterback from Arkansas, was selected by the Patriots in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft with the 74th selection overall. Mallett, 6-6, 238 pounds, began his college career at Michigan before transferring to Arkansas. During his collegiate career, Mallett appeared in 37 games (11 at Michigan and 26 at Arkansas). He started all 26 contests he appeared in at Arkansas and three at Michigan. Mallett concluded his college career with 8,385 yards, 69 touchdowns and 24 interceptions, completing 552-of-955 passes (57.80%). At Arkansas, Mallett completed 491-of-814 attempts (60.32%) for 7,493 yards, 62 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. His 7,493 pass yards are first in Arkansas school history. He also set a school season-record with 3,869 pass yards in 2010.
Cannon, an offensive lineman from Texas Christian University, was selected by the Patriots in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft with the 138th selection overall. Cannon, 6-5, 358 pounds, appeared in 49 games at Texas Christian, starting the final 36 contests that he appeared in. he started 24 games at right offensive tackle and 12 on the left side. He moved from right tackle to left tackle as a senior in 2010. Cannon did not allow a sack in his final two seasons.
VETERAN PLAYERS RELEASED
Banta-Cain, 6-2, 250 pounds, was originally drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round (239th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played for the Patriots for four seasons from 2003-06, playing in 54 games with five starts over that period. Banta-Cain was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an unrestricted free agent on March 3, 2007, and played for the 49ers for two seasons (2007-08), playing in 28 games with 10 starts for San Francisco. He re-signed with the Patriots on Feb. 18, 2009 after being released by the 49ers on Feb. 11, 2009. In 31 games with the Patriots in 2009 and 2010, Banta-Cain registered 15 sacks, including a team-leading and career-high 10.0 sacks in 2009.
Carter, 5-9, 175 pounds, joined the Patriots practice squad on Sept. 7 after being released by the Denver Broncos on Aug. 30. He was signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Dec. 18 and played in two games. Carter originally joined the Denver Broncos as a rookie free agent out of Florida State in 2009. He spent the first 14 weeks of the 2009 season on the Denver practice squad before spending the final three games of the season on the active roster. Carter played in two games as a rookie with one start and finished with one solo tackle and one fumble recovery.
Crumpler, 6-2, 275 pounds, was signed by the Patriots as an unrestricted free agent on March 24, 2010. Crumpler started in 10 of the 16 regular season games and finished with six receptions for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Originally a second-round draft choice (35th overall) by the Atlanta Falcons out of North Carolina in 2001, Crumpler played for the Falcons (2001-07) and the Tennessee Titans (2008-09). Crumpler earned four-straight Pro Bowl honors from 2003 through 2006. He enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2005 when he registered career-highs with 65 receptions for 877 yards. Crumpler followed that campaign with a career-best eight touchdowns in 2006.
Kaczur, 6-4, 315 pounds, spent the last six seasons with the patriots after joining the team as a third round draft choice (100th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft out of Toledo. He started 62 of 68 regular-season games and seven playoff contests. Kaczur was injured in training camp last season and spent the majority of the season on injured reserve.
Stroud, 6-6, 310 pounds, was signed by the Patriots on March 4, 20011. He is a veteran of 10 NFL seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2001-2007) and the Buffalo Bills (2008-2010). Originally a first round draft pick (13th pick overall) out of Georgia by Jacksonville in 2001, Stroud has started in 129 of 146 games and has accumulated 647 total tackles, 29.5 sacks, 8 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recovered and 39 passes defensed. He was named a starter in the Pro Bowl three straight seasons (2003-2005) with the Jaguars.
Warren, 6-5, 300 pounds, originally joined the Patriots as a first round draft choice (13th overall) in 2003 out of Texas A&M. In his eight seasons with the Patriots, Warren started 92 of 105 games while recording 496 total tackles, 20.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. Warren was a part of the Super Bowl Championship team of 2003 and 2004. He missed the entire 2010 season after being placed on injured reserve with a hip injury.
2011 ROOKIE FREE AGENT RELEASED
Coulson, 6-5, 255 pounds, converted from linebacker to defensive end as a sophomore. He started seven games as junior and all 13 games as a senior in 2010, finishing with 53 total tackles and 3.5 sacks as a senior. He also handled long snapping duties.
