New England Patriots sign two, cut two
The New England Patriots continue to play musical chairs with the back end of the 90-man roster, as the camp bodies continue to swivel in and out until the music stops on their hopes at making the Patriots practice squad (or even the longshot of the 53-man). Travis Chappelear, we hardly knew ye, as the Patriots decided to cut ties with the 6’5″, 263 pound UDFA defensive lineman. Chappealar was only signed yesterday before receiving his walking papers today, and we’ll see where he can end up at. This marks the second time this offseason in which Chappelear has been released, as the Cincinnati Bengals released him earlier.
A New England Patriots helmet rests on the side line during the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
The Patriots also cut UDFA long snapper Mike Zupancic, who is 6’5″, 260 pounds and basically had no realistic shot of doing anything with the Pats. Nobody is going to keep a long snapper on the practice squad, and the Patriots already have the LS locked up by Danny Aiken, so the 23-year-old Eastern Michigan product will have to take his talents elsewhere in hopes of a fruitful competition.
In their steads, the New England Patriots brought on two offensive linemen in Luke Patterson and Brice Schwab, with the latter being a rookie. Patterson is a 25-year-old who was a UDFA in 2011 at Texas A&M, where he played on the defensive line before converting to the offensive side of the ball in the NFL. Patterson made the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad in 2011 and 2012, so he is hoping to keep his practice squad status up with the Patriots here in 2013.
Brice Schwab is a UDFA rookie with intriguing size at 6’7″, 302 pounds, and he was a standout for the Arizona State Sun Devils in college. Schwab was picked up after the draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but they cut ties with the former JUCO transfer just a few months later. He looks like an intriguing player, and we’ll see if the 23-year-old can make some noise and sneak onto the p-squad.