Patriot News and Rumors

NFL Draft News:
The Patriots are scheduled to host LB Keith Rivers (Southern California) for a pre-draft visit. Linebacker is one of the Patriots' top need areas, with two of their top five players from 2007 currently free agents (Colvin and Seau).

The Patriots are also scheduled to host CB Brandon Flowers (Virginia Tech), DB Charles Godfrey (Iowa), CB Terrell Thomas (USC) and DE/LB Darrell Robertson (Georgia Tech).

The Patriots held a private, on-campus workout with
DE/OLB Quentin Groves (Auburn University). Groves is a tweener who projects to be an outside linebacker-edge rusher for teams that run a 3-4 scheme like the Patriots.

If the Patriots are looking to draft a signal-caller this year, one rookie to keep an eye on is QB Josh Johnson (San Diego). The Patriots recently sent a member of their coaching staff to meet with Johnson for a private workout.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick stopped at the University of South Florida as part of his annual Florida trip to get a first-hand look at their prospects. While there, he met with South Florida draft-eligible prospects CB Mike Jenkins and CB Trae Williams.

Belichick was also at the University of Florida for the opening of the Gators' spring football practice. Belichick met with draft-eligible prospects from Florida, including DE/OLB Derrick Harvey.

The Patriots had a private workout with DE Vernon Gholston (Ohio State) in Columbus, Ohio. Gholston (6-3, 266) is considered one of the top prospects in the NFL draft. While he played defensive end at Ohio State, he would most likely project to outside linebacker in the Patriots' 3-4 alignment.

The Patriots have had the fourth-most compensatory draft picks (17) of any team over the last decade. Good thing since QB Tom Brady was selected with one of them!

Patriot Player News:
Tight end Benjamin Watson was reported to have had surgery on his left ankle earlier this month. Watson had injured the ankle in a Week 6 game at Dallas when safety Roy Williams tackled him from behind. No report yet on how this affects Watson's level of participation with the team.

Offensive lineman Wesley Britt and outside linebacker Pierre Woods were both resigned by the Patriots. This was expected since both players were exclusive rights free agents and were only waiting on the organization tendered their contracts.

The Patriots have officially announced the signing of free agent cornerback Fernando Bryant. Bryant, 30, is a veteran of nine NFL seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars (1999-2003) and the Detroit Lions (2004-07). The 5-foot-10-inch, 184-pound cornerback has played in 110 career games with 109 starts and has totaled 509 tackles (435 solo), 7 interceptions, 88 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles and 7 fumble recoveries.

Player Rumor:
Do not believe everything you read. CB Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones' agent reported that Jones would be interested in joining the Patriots. This does not mean the Patriots were interested in him. According to a league source, the Patriots are not pursuing Jones.