Pats sign another ex-Colt: OL Jamey Richard

[Ron Sellers]

While some call Kansas City Foxboro West, Foxboro is turning into Indianapolis East.

OL Jamey Richard signed by Pats - Extra Points - Boston.com

The Patriots have signed G/C Jamey Richard, according to league sources.

The 27-year old Richard is 6-foot-5, 295 pounds, and was originally a 7th round pick of the Colts in 2008 out of the University of Buffalo, though he has New England roots: he was born in Weston, Conn. and played at Weston High.

Richard played in 48 games over four seasons with Indianapolis, with 11 starts (seven in '08 and four in 2010).

He and two other free-agent offensive linemen were in Foxborough this week for workouts with the team, and with Richard signing, it was clear the team was in the market for a lineman to help with depth and not just doing due diligence with their visits.

Richard is the 90th man on the Patriots' roster, meaning they have now reached the NFL offseason limit.

 

[mayoclinic]

Decent depth signing. The Pats now have 4 G/C linemen in Dan Connolly, Nick McDonald, Ryan Wendell and Jamey Richard. Depth and competition are good.

 

[The Gr8est]

Another ex-Colt, in and of itself, isn't too alarming, but if news reports come out that Bill Polian will be taking over as the Pats GM, run for the hills!

 

[Deus Irae]

With Mankins rehabbing, Waters not around and the team likely to take it very easy with Vollmer, they needed an O-lineman to fill out the 90 man roster. I've never been impressed with his play as a Colt, but he's a camp body, at least.

 

[BTTA]

Decent depth signing. The Pats now have 4 G/C linemen in Dan Connolly, Nick McDonald, Ryan Wendell and Jamey Richard. Depth and competition are good.

Did something happen to Koppen that I missed?

 

[Deus Irae]

Did something happen to Koppen that I missed?

I think most people consider Koppen strictly a center.

 

[Ron Sellers]

Patriots' current offensive line, by position(s) they play:


Long snapper: Danny Aiken

Center: Dan Koppen

Guard/Center: Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell, Nick McDonald, Jamey Richard

Guard: Logan Mankins, Brian Waters, Donald Thomas, Jeremiah Warren

Guard/Tackle: Robert Gallery, Marcus Cannon, Jon Opperud

Tackle: Nick Solder, Sebastian Vollmer, Kyle Hix, Matt Kopa, Markus Zusevics

Tight End: Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells, Brad Herman



I believe that's how it looks right now (I'm sure somebody will correct me if it is not). Obviously some can play other positions in a pinch (e.g., Solder at TE, Ninkovich as LS), but that should be a relatively accurate snapshot.

 

[lurker1965]

Patriots' current offensive line, by position(s) they play:


Long snapper: Danny Aiken

Center: Dan Koppen

Guard/Center: Dan Connolly, Ryan Wendell, Nick McDonald, Jamey Richard

Guard: Logan Mankins, Brian Waters, Donald Thomas, Jeremiah Warren

Guard/Tackle: Robert Gallery, Marcus Cannon, Jon Opperud

Tackle: Nick Solder, Sebastian Vollmer, Kyle Hix, Matt Kopa, Markus Zusevics

Tight End: Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Daniel Fells, Brad Herman



I believe that's how it looks right now (I'm sure somebody will correct me if it is not). Obviously some can play other positions in a pinch (e.g., Solder at TE, Ninkovich as LS), but that should be a relatively accurate snapshot.

Well, technically Mankins has played LT in a, um, poo-storm of injuries, I think. One has to drink often and long term to think that is OK, though.

 

[patfanken]

Interesting to compare this signing with what's going on in NJ. While the Pats, who have more depth in the OL than most teams, keep making s ure that depth is available...just in case; the Jets who have little or no depth, and issues at the starting positions keep.....doing nothing. Curious, but Ray likes it.

BTW- I thought the Pats would sign one of the 3 guys they brought it, but I am a bit surprised that they chose the C/G rather than one of the OT/G's

 

[mayoclinic]

Did something happen to Koppen that I missed?

I think most people consider Koppen strictly a center.

No, nothing happened to Koppen that I'm aware of. And he thinks he still has plenty of "tread" left:

BostonHerald.com - Blogs: The Blitz» Blog Archive » Center Dan Koppen on his health: ”I’ve got a lot of tread left on these tires.”

But Mike Reiss notes that the Pats gave Dan Connolly a bigger and longer term deal than Koppen, suggesting that they view him as the starter, and that Koppen has been relegated to 2nd team at OTAs.

When the New England Patriots held their first voluntary organized team activity open to reporters on Thursday, the top offensive line unit had just one carryover, center Dan Connolly, from the group that started Super Bowl XLVI nearly four months earlier. Ten-year veteran Dan Koppen was relegated to the second team, beginning what will likely be a summer of battling to win back his old starting spot.

Connolly, who replaced Koppen after he suffered a broken leg in the team’s opener last season, received a three-year deal this offseason with a $3.25 million signing bonus, while Koppen later re-signed with the team for two years with a $350,000 bonus.

Putting the offensive line in focus - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Given his age, salary, and lack of positional versatility, Reiss has suggested that Koppen's roster spot could be something to watch:

Spent a lot of time watching the offensive line, and while noting it's very, very early, I was interested to see how the center position would be handled. Dan Connolly lined up there, followed by Dan Koppen. That's what was expected based on the contracts signed by each -- Connolly received a three-year deal with a $3.25 million signing bonus, while Koppen received a two-year deal with a $350,000 signing bonus-- but that's been Koppen's job since 2003. The Patriots usually like their backup linemen to have position versatility (e.g. center and guard) and Koppen has only played center, so his spot on the roster could be something to monitor in training camp.

Cleaning out the OTA notebook - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

I'm not saying Reiss is correct. But signing another veteran - at age 27 - with starting experience and guard/center versatility suggests that the Pats are keeping their options open. Richards may only be training camp fodder. Or something else could develop. It's possible the Pats could decide that Koppen is too expensive and too limited for a backup center. But it could work out in a completely different fashion - I'm guessing that one of the reasons for re-signing Koppen was to keep their options open with the Mankins and Waters situations. If they have to move Dan Connolly to guard because of injury or retirement, all of a sudden Koppen becomes a reasonably-priced starting center with experience instead of a backup.

Something to watch.

 

[eom]

37 of these guys will be cut.
if not more.

 

[captain stone]

I'm surprised that Jake Scott, Jason Brown & Andre Gurode, 3 C/Gs who have all had better productivity
than Richard, have yet to sign anywhere. I don't think that any of them ended last season on IR,
but I could be mistaken.