New England Patriots work out Rock Cartwright and Lavasier Tuinei

The New England Patriots worked out four players yesterday in veteran running back Rock Cartwright, rookie wide receiver Lavasier Tuinei, guard Mitch Petrus, and another recently released wide receiver in Kamar Aiken.

Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE

Rock Cartwright is a 32-year-old veteran who has most recently played for the Oakland Raiders but was once a star on special teams from 2006-2009 for the Washington Redskins. The long-time Redskins back was also a solid depth running back with a career average of 4.2 yards per carry on 228 rushes.

In 2007, Cartwright was ninth in the league in yards per kick return and was one of the better returners in the league from 2006-2008. The Patriots could sign him to shore up depth with Brandon Bolden out, but I doubt Cartwright has enough speed to also chip in as a returner these days. He most recently played for the San Francisco 49ers.

Lavasier Tuinei was recently released by the Seattle Seahawks and is a former star wide receiver from the Oregon Ducks. Tuinei has an incredible amount of raw, athletic ability, but he couldn’t even put it all together in college with the Ducks. Tuinei would be an interesting project on the practice squad for future development.

Both starting guards Logan Mankins and Dan Connolly went down with injuries in the first-half of the game against the Buffalo Bills, so working out guard Mitch Petrus as possible future depth makes a ton of sense. Petrus was released earlier this month by the New York Giants and is a former fifth-round draft pick. He has played in 23 games in his career, so experience is definitely a plus for him.

Aiken was recently released by the Chicago Bears and has never caught a pass in his NFL career. The last time he took the field was for the Buffalo Bills in 2011 and was an undrafted project player out of UCF in 2011.

Tuinei and Petrus are worth signing, while Aiken and Cartwright should get passed over- especially Aiken. He is clearly not as good as Tuinei and has the least future importance to the Patriots.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.