Patriots sign former Oregon WR Lavasier Tuinei

[jmt57]

The Pats presumably saw enough of Hawkins and Ashford to come to the conclusion that they would not make the roster, so the use of training camp as a place to tryout for the team continues.

If you are one of those that want the Pats to get bigger at WR, then you will like Tuinei: he is 6'4", 220 pounds.



Agent: New England Patriots sign former Oregon WR Lavasier Tuinei | masslive.com

The New England Patriots continue to search for answers at wide receiver.

One day after parting ways with Lavelle Hawkins and Perez Ashford, the Patriots plugged one of the holes by signing former University of Oregon wide receiver Lavasier Tuinei, according to his agency.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Tuinei spent time last year on the Seattle Seahawks practice squad and caught one pass for eight yards during the preseason. He was released by Dallas Cowboys last week after failing a conditioning test.

Tuinei, 22, also spent some time with the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason but was waived in April with a non-football injury designation.

Over three seasons at Oregon, Tuinei caught 108 passes for 1,212 yards with 12 touchdowns.​

Agent: WR Tuinei agrees with Pats - espnBoston - Field Yates

The Patriots are down to just one open roster spot, as they have agreed to terms with former Oregon wide receiver Lavasier Tuinei, according to his agency, Paradigm Sports Management.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Tuinei had 108 career catches for 1,212 yards and 12 touchdowns during three college seasons at Oregon, the last of which came in 2011.

He signed on with the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2012, spending time on the team's practice squad that season. He was signed by the Bengals to a reserve/future contract following the 2012 season, before later being waived. He subsequently spent time with the Dallas Cowboys.

The Patriots now have 11 wide receivers on the roster after letting go of both Lavelle Hawkins and Perez Ashford on Wednesday​

While it is true that the Pats do now have 11 wide receivers on the roster, that is a slightly misleading number because neither Julian Edelman nor Mark Harrison are currently participating in practices.






Seattle Seahawks - Lavasier Tuinei

HOW ACQUIRED:
Signed by Seattle as a rookie free agent on April 28, 2012.

COLLEGE:
Totaled 108 receptions for 1,212 yards and 12 touchdowns in 37 games over three seasons for the Ducks. Started 14 games his final season, leading the team with 48 catches and 10 touchdowns and finishing second on the team in receiving yards (599). Also in 2011, was named the Rose Bowl Offensive Player of the Game with career highs of eight catches for 158 yards and two scores in the team’s win over Wisconsin. Accrued 41 catches for 680 yards and three touchdowns in his only season at Golden West College, where he was ranked the No. 8 junior college receiver by JCGridiron.com.​

The Obligatory YouTube Highlight Video




Lavasier Tuinei - GoDucks.com - The University of Oregon Official Athletics Web Site

2011 — Rose Bowl Offensive Player of the Game with career-highs of eight catches and 158 yards to go with a pair of touchdowns in win over Wisconsin … Selected to play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson, Calif. … Team’s leading receiver with 48 receptions and 10 touchdowns ranked second in yards with 599 … Made three catches for 20 yards in win vs. UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship Game … Caught two passes for 15 yards in victory over Oregon State … Five receptions for 34 yards in loss vs. USC … Had two grabs for 12 yards, including a 4-yard TD for the Ducks first score of the game in win at Stanford … Four receptions for 25 yards at Washington … Had a team-high 86 yards on four catches, including a 19-yard TD and a career-best 55-yard reception for a touchdown in win vs. Washington State … His lone reception went for 31 yards in win at Colorado … Caught two passes for 28 yards including a 28-yard grab for a TD vs. Arizona State … A pair of catches for 13 yards and a touchdown in win vs. Cal, following one catch for 15 yards at Arizona … Had a career-high 90 yards on four grabs, including two touchdowns of 8 and 34 yards in win over Missouri State … Three receptions for 25 yards and a TD vs. Nevada … Seven grabs for 47 grabs against LSU …Hauled in a game-high six passes for 46 yards to lead the Green Team to a 16-0 win in the spring game.​

 

[patsinthesnow]

A lot of tall WRs in camp.

 

[Triumph]

What is there to lose?

Coming from UO, hes already familiar with the style of the Pats offensive play calling.

 

[SONS_OF_BELICHICK]

I have seen a few Oregon games...and I really liked this guy ....as a possession receiver....but I dont see how he can make it on the roster....does he have practice squad eligibility?

 

[TruthSeeker]

A lot of tall WRs in camp.

Yeah, seems like no more smurfs. Every receiver we sign or draft seems to be at least 5'11".

 

[patman12]

The New England Patriots continue to search for answers at wide receiver.

Meh, not sure bottom of the roster WRs warrants the use of that line from the masslive article.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

A lot of tall WRs in camp.

Seriously, that fact speaks volumes about why the Pats let Welker leave. It obviously wasn't $ as the Denver offer reveals. Right or wrong (jury's out) they looked at what had been happening post season and decided what they had though quite good was not good enough to beat championship defenses.

 

[dales804]

Seriously, that fact speaks volumes about why the Pats let Welker leave. It obviously wasn't $ as the Denver offer reveals. Right or wrong (jury's out) they looked at what had been happening post season and decided what they had though quite good was not good enough to beat championship defenses.

I completely agree with your last sentence. Well put. I'm excited to see what Amendola, Dobson and Boyce (and potentially Thompkins) can do in this offense. It will look different but, as a fan, I look forward to watching it develop.

 

[jmt57]

I have seen a few Oregon games...and I really liked this guy ....as a possession receiver....but I dont see how he can make it on the roster....does he have practice squad eligibility?

Yes he does.

He has not appeared in any NFL games, and was on Seattle's practice squad from October 31 through November 6 and from November 13 through December 17 last year.

 

[goheels22002]

I love this guy. Check out this video: Lavasier Tuinei - YouTube

Smart, grounded and the highlights show him in the slot and out wide. If he could stick, he could run some of Hernandez' routes in the slot.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Even if he doesn't work out, you don't have to look very far to see what all the guys the Pats are bringing in have in common: they're all big, physical targets. Belichick has clearly made the determination that the Pats absolutely need this element in their offense, and he's going to keep aggressively looking until he finds it. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later, but just knowing that it's finally a real priority is encouraging in its own right.

 

[Deus Irae]

Seriously, that fact speaks volumes about why the Pats let Welker leave. It obviously wasn't $ as the Denver offer reveals. Right or wrong (jury's out) they looked at what had been happening post season and decided what they had though quite good was not good enough to beat championship defenses.

Amendola's only 5'11" to Welker's 5'9", and Welker, at 5'9" has been catching passes at a rate nobody's ever done it. Tall receivers outside of Amendola doesn't speak, at all, to why Welker's gone. If it does, the Patriots are really, really stupid.

And the Patriots aren't really, really stupid.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Even if he doesn't work out, you don't have to look very far to see what all the guys the Pats are bringing in have in common: they're all big, physical targets. Belichick has clearly made the determination that the Pats absolutely need this element in their offense, and he's going to keep aggressively looking until he finds it. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later, but just knowing that it's finally a real priority is encouraging in its own right.

I think the idea of bringing in big physical receivers, is because the DB's are getting bigger and more aggressive, AND, it help with passes that may not be 100% on target. Look at some of the bad things that have happened in the past, Troy Brown being outjumped by Champ Bailey in the 2005 playoffs, Welker being about 1 or 2 inches too short to grab a pass that would have sealed a SB win. Look at what Anquan Boldin did in the playoffs last season, how many passes did he rip away from defenders ? It would be so nice to have a receiver or two to be able to win those physical battles.

Though, I really don't see Tuinei, Harrison or Sims making the team.

 

[Deus Irae]

Patriots first exhibition game is against the Eagles, who's new coach just came up from Oregon, and the team had a roster spot available. I doubt there's any more to the mystery.

 

[BadMoFo]

Put some weight on him, move him to TE.

 

[Demosthenes]

Trying to figure out what's wrong with the kid. 6'4", 220 lbs. Looks to have good hands and can go up and get the ball. Has decent to good speed depending on which 40 result you accept.

Yet he went undrafted and has bounced around a bit.

 

[BelichickFan]

It's not about the active roster, we'll have one or maybe two WR on the practice squad, it's worth looking through as many young WR as possible to fill that out and complete the emergency list too.

 

[mgteich]

Agreed.

We will have anywhere from 7-9 receivers making the squad, on the 53 or 53-man squad (or perhaps on the PUP list). Four seem to be locks: Amendola, Dobson, Boyce and Slater. We have lots of players competing for the rest of roster and Practice Squad spots.

It's not about the active roster, we'll have one or maybe two WR on the practice squad, it's worth looking through as many young WR as possible to fill that out and complete the emergency list too.

 

[Zeus]

Training camp fodder. I'd be shocked if this guy can play at all.

But Lavasier - that is one cool name. Wonder if he has a brother named Courvoisier?

 

[Sicilian]

Patriots first exhibition game is against the Eagles, who's new coach just came up from Oregon, and the team had a roster spot available. I doubt there's any more to the mystery.

Are you saying that Belichick is looking for weaknesses to exploit to win the first preseason game?