FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed veteran OL Eric Ghiaciuc today. Terms of the contract were not announced. In addition, the Patriots release rookie OL John Wise.
Ghiaciuc, 6-4, 303 pounds, is a veteran of five NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals (2005-08) and San Diego Chargers (2009). He originally joined Cincinnati as a fourth-round draft pick in the 2005 NFL Draft out of Central Michigan. Ghiaciuc signed with Kansas City as an unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason but was waived prior to the start of the regular season. He signed with San Diego on Dec. 22, 2009 and was inactive for the final two regular-season games and the postseason. Ghiaciuc signed with Cleveland on April 8, 2010 but was waived on June 15, 2010. He has started 42 of 48 games during his NFL career.
Wise, 6-5, 298, was signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent on April 29, 2010 out of Illinois. He was a wrestler at Illinois, who finished seventh at the national tournament, earning All-American honors with a 25-9 record. He played football his freshman year at Western Illinois in 2004 as a defensive tackle before transferring to Illinois where he became a three-time qualifier for the NCAA Championships as a wrestler.
