Today In Patriots History March 16, 2001: NE signs Steelers free agent Mike Vrabel

March 16, 2001:
The Patriots sign free agent Mike Vrabel.

The deal was reportedly a 5-year, $12.5 million contract, including a $2.5 million signing bonus. Considering that the 2001 salary cap was $67 million, that was quite a commitment by Bill Belichick - especially for a player that had never started a single games in his four seasons in the NFL.

Vrabel was a 1997 third round pick by Pittsburgh, out of Ohio State. He was willing to return to the Steelers, but he was frustrated with their lack of commitment, stating that they "never really wanted to make a solid offer". Vrabel added that they "wanted to kind of tip-toe and find out what people were offering me. I finally said to them, 'if you want to make an offer, just please make me an offer. Let my agent know what you think I'm worth to this football team.'"

The 2001 New England defense was in transition. Chris Slade had been cut a couple weeks earlier, and Chad Eaton had just signed with Seattle. Tired of waiting, Vrabel saw a good fit for himself in New England. With the Patriots using a defense that employs both a 4-3 and a 3-4 scheme, Vrabel's experience as both an outside linebacker and a defensive end make him a versatile asset for the team.

Ironically his most notable play during his time in Pittsburgh involved the Patriots. A 22-year old Mike Vrabel sacked Drew Bledsoe with 1:30 to go to clinch a 7-6 Steeler victory over the Pats in the '97-'98 divisional round playoff game. Bledsoe had completed six of seven passes to move the Pats close to field goal range, and another first down. That turned out to be the first of the Akron-area native's twenty postseason games.

Belichick saw something in Vrabel that he liked, and Pittsburgh overlooked. It was probably one of the best decisions he made in his twenty-plus years as a general manager. Vrabel became a week one starter and proceeded to miss just three games over seven seasons with the Patriots.




A little bit of trivia: Vrabel originally wore #51 with the Patriots, but switched to #50 during training camp, so that newly signed Bryan Cox could have #51.

There is a slight bit of uncertainty as to the exact date that Vrabel signed with the Pats. The 2001 Patriots Media Guide, Pro Football Archives, and Pro Sports Transactions all list the date as March 16; Pro Football Reference only lists transactions back to 2002. ESPN's team transactions only go back as far as 2008, and Patriots.com's roster transactions only go to 2016. However this old ESPN tracker by John Clayton lists the date as March 13, and this Boston.com article states the signing occured on March 12. The only article from 2001 that specifies a date mentions he was signed on 'Friday', which was March 16. I'm thinking what most likely happened was that news first leaked on the 12th or 13th, then the team officially announced the signing on March 16.




In 2007 Vrabel forced three fumbles, had three sacks, recovered an onside kick, and caught a touchdown pass - all in one game. He finished his career with 10 receptions on 14 targets - with all ten going for touchdowns. On defense Vrabel was an effective force not only at defensive end and outside linebacker, but also when injuries necessitated him to play inside linebacker in 2005 and 2006.

Over eight seasons with the Patriots Vrabel recorded 606 tackles (412 solo), 48 sacks, 11 interceptions (with one touchdown), 24 pass deflections, 13 forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.

Late in the 2001 season Vrabel intercepted a pass in a game at the Jets. The turnover was clutch, triggering a momentum change which led to the Patriots outscoring New York 17-3 in the second half, to win 17-16. Then in Super Bowl 36 it was Mike Vrabel who applied the pressure on Kurt Warner that forced a bad pass that was intercepted by Ty Law, returned 47 yards for a touchdown.





Early in the 2002 season Vrabel lined up as a tight end and grabbed a one-yard TD pass to give the Pats a 14-7 lead at San Diego. In doing so Mike became the first New England defensive player to catch a touchdown pass since 1974, when John Tanner caught a two-yard TD from Jim Plunkett. Little did any of us know at the time this would be the first of many.




The following year Vrabel had three sacks in a 9-3 win over Cleveland; at the time it tied a team record for the most sacks in a single game in franchise history, last accomplished by Henry Thomas in 1998. (That mark has since been surpassed by Willie McGinest with 4½ in '06, and Andre Carter with four in '11.) Mike had 9½ sacks in '03, the most by any Patriot in the Bill Belichick era, and most by a Patriot since McGinest had the same amount in 1996. All that was accomplished despite missing three games Vrabel capped off the 2003 season with a strong postseason, finishing with three sacks - including two in Super Bowl 38. He also had another touchdown reception in the fourth quarter which was crucial, changing a 22-21 deficit to a 29-22 lead with 2:51 left to play; that was the first offensive touchdown by a defensive player in a Super Bowl since Refrigerator Perry scored in SB 20. And earlier in the game Vrabel's hit on Jake Delhomme late in the first half caused a fumble which was recovered by Richard Seymour deep in Carolina territory. The Patriots would score four plays later to take a seven-point lead. Super Bowl 38 was simply an incredible game by Vrabel.

On December 26, 2005 Mike Vrabel became the first player in NFL history to record two touchdowns and a sack in a single game, since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Herm Edwards had no answer for Vrabel that day; Mike also had a game-high six tackles as the Pats won 31-21 in New Jersey. In 2006 Vrabel was captain on a Pats defense that set a franchise record by allowing just 14.8 points per game. That defense allowed 237 points, the fewest by any Patriot club in a 16-game season.

Along with his versatility, Mike Vrabel was clutch. He had four strip-sacks in the postseason. The first came with the Steelers to clinch a 7-6 Pittsburgh win in the 1997 divisional round against Drew Bledsoe. There was another on Jake Delhomme in the Super Bowl (see above), and a year later one on Peyton Manning in the 20-3 win against the Colts. Vrabel also had a strip sack on Philip Rivers in the epic 24-21 2006 divisional round game against the Chargers; that was recovered by Tully Banta-Cain and led to a Stephen Gostkowski field goal.








Patriots ink Stevens, Vrabel - March 16, 2001





2001 Patriots Transactions - ESPN

Mike Vrabel... yeah... I remember him

Camp fodder

who?

Happy 57th birthday to Pat Harlow
Born March 16, 1969 in Norco, California
Patriot right tackle, 1991-1995; uniform #77
Patriots 1st round (11th overall) selection of the 1991 NFL Draft, from Southern Cal
Pats résumé: five seasons, first four as a starter; 74 games (64 starts)


Patrick Christopher Harlow was born and raised in Norco, a small town about 50 miles east of Los Angeles that is nicknamed 'Horse Town USA', and requires any new construction to have a 'traditional, rustic western favor'. After blocking for Todd Marinovich and Rodney Peete at USC, Harlow won the Morris Trophy, which was awarded annually to the best lineman in the Pac-8/10/12, as selected by opposing players. The first round (11th overall) pick of the 1991 draft started every game from 91-94 before an injury, and then a dispute with Bill Parcells resulted in the tackle being sent to the Raiders.




There is a bit of a backstory on that first round draft pick. 1991 was the last season that Victor Kiam owned the team. A year earlier he hired Sam Jankovich, who had been the athletic director at the University of Miami when the Hurricanes were winning multiple college football championships, to be the Patriots new CEO. Jankovich was the defacto General Manager, with Joe Mendes holding the title of Vice President of Player Operations. The Pats - whether it was Jankovich, Mendes, or a group effort - held the #1 pick of the 1991 draft, after going 1-15 in Rod Rust's only season as head coach.


The Patriots wanted Notre Dame RB Rocket Ismail, but he wanted no part of what was than a very dysfunctional Pats organization. The decision was then made to trade down, sending that number one pick to Dallas. With the roster in dire need of a turnover, the Patriots received three players, the #11 pick (that the Cowboys had received as part of the Herschel Walker trade), and a 2nd round pick, #41 overall.


Dallas used the #1 pick on Russell Maryland, a DT from Miami. Did Jankovich know something about Maryland that he didn't like? While he didn't play up to his draft status, he did have a ten-year NFL career - and won three super bowl rings. The players that the Pats received didn't do much. LBs David Howard and Eugene Lockhart were on the wrong side of 30, and only lasted two seasons. DB Ron Francis didn't survive roster cuts. The second round pick was safety Jerome Henderson, who was waived early in the 1993 season. Harlow was the only other player from that ill-advised trade.


Jankovich, Mendes and head coach **** MacPherson were all fired after the 1992 season, and the Pats hired Bill Parcells. Many new coaches like to bring in 'their own' players, and Tuna was certainly no exception - so that may have had something to do with getting rid of Howard, Lockhart and Henderson. Harlow stuck around, but seemed to always be in Parcells' doghouse. In 1995 Parcells replaced Harlow with Max Lane, a 6th round 1991 draft pick, at right tackle in the starting lineup. Harlow was traded to Oakland the following April, with the Pats somehow getting a 2nd round draft pick in return.



April 21, 1991:






















July 15, 1996:
Raiders' Harlow Likes Being an Ex-Patriot / Tackle clashed with Parcells











Dec 15, 2016:





May 12, 2021:

PATSYLICIOUS said:

Camp fodder

Click to expand...

Who is this bum?
Cheap Kraft signing dumpster trash as usual.

Not going to lie this looks like the result of Combat First Aid as I would suspect Drew was shot in the shoulder.

Happy 40th birthday to Zoltán Meskó
Born March 16, 1986 in Timisoara, Romania
Patriot P, 2010-2012; uniform #14
Patriots 5th round (150th overall) selection of the 2010 NFL Draft, from Michigan
Pats résumé: three seasons, 48 games; 44.2 yards per punt (39.2 yards net), with 40.6% inside the 20; 6 playoff games, 44.2 yard avg




Jan 14, 2011:





April 25, 2010:






August 27, 2012:
Patriots.com








Aug 12, 2013:



Aug 31, 2013:














May 10, 2016:

Happy 57th birthday to Steve Israel
Born March 16, 1969 in Camden, New Jersey
Patriot CB, 1997-1999; uniform #21
Signed as a 27-year old, five-season veteran free agent on March 24, 1997
Pats résumé: three seasons, 29 games (20 starts); four interceptions, two fumble recoveries; one pick in three playoff games


June 12, 1997:


















June 1, 1998:
'Academics And Athletics Are Not Mutually Exclusive,' Says New England Patriots Player Steve Israel















Steven Israel - Dedication to Community

I absolutely hated Mike Vrabel after that sack in 1997. He didn't do much after that and I didn't care for the signing in 2001.

Loved Steve Isreal. The late 90's secondary is 2nd to none in swag and nobody comes close.

March 16, 1960:
Boston Patriots sign DT Gordy Holz

Gordy Holz was selected by the Steelers in the 1955 NFL draft, but instead chose to sign with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU), a four-team league that merged with the Western Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (WIFU) to create the Canadian Football League (CFL) three years later. After one season in Ottawa, Holz served in the US Navy for two years, then returned to Canada to play for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Holz never played for the Pats though. The Patriots traded him to Denver on August 25, 1960 for Michigan State OT Larry Cundiff.





March 16, 1961:
C/LB Lou Hallow signs with the Patriots

Hallow was a late round draft pick by the Rams in 1955, then later spent two years in the Marines. He had a ton of competition in training camp for a roster spot (see below), and did not make the roster.


Hallow was inducted into the East Carolina Pirates Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.





March 16, 1972:
SEASON TICKET CUTOFF: "In order to make tickets available on a per game basis, the New England Patriots Board of Directors cut off the sale of season tickets at the 56,043 level".

Considering that the Patriots were coming off a 6-8 record and five consecutive losing seasons, I'm a bit surprised that the board felt there was a need to be concerned about selling too many season tickets. The decision left 4,956 nose bleed seats available for individual game sales.




March 16, 1987:
Brian Holloway undergoes arthroscopic surgery on right knee and right shoudler; George Colton signs

The three-time Pro Bowl left tackle would be traded to the Los Angeles Raiders on September 2, ending his six years with the Patriots. Colton was a ninth round pick by the Patriots in 1986, out of Maryland. He was cut by the Pats at the end of both the '86 and '87 training camps; the guard's only NFL playing time was limited to three replacement player games for New England in 1987.





March 16, 1988:
Rollie Dotsch passes away at the age of 55 after a 7½-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

Rollie was the outside linebackers coach under Chuck Fairbanks from 1974-1976. He later coached the Birmingham Stallions to two conference championships during the three years of the United States Football League before the league folded after short-sighted owner decided the league should play in the fall rather than in the spring and summer, going head-to-head with the NFL.






March 16, 1993:
Patriots sign DE Leon Seals

"Dr Sack" had spent most of 1992 on IR with Philadelphia, after previously playing in Buffalo for five seasons. I'm guessing the injury wasn't properly healed; the Pats released Seals in early June, and he never signed with another NFL team again after that.





March 16, 1995:
The Pats re-sign three ERFAs: safety Larry Whigham, guard Todd Rucci and TE Paul Francisco

Whigham and Rucci (seven seasons each in New England) went on to become key players for the Patriots, so as Meat Loaf said, two out of three ain't bad. BU grad Francisco did alright for himself as well, ascending to become a SVP at State Street.





March 16, 1999:
New England re-signs OLB Bernard Russ

Russ spent the majority of '97 on the practice squad and most of '98 on injured reserve. He was allocated to the Scottish Claymores of NFLE in '99, then saw action in six games with the Pats that same year. Russ played in a total of 12 games for the Pete Carroll (ten regular season, two postseason) over those three seasons, and later played in the XFL and CFL.

March 16, 2001:
Besides signing Pittsburgh free agent Mike Vrabel, the Pats also re-signed unrestricted free agent Matt Stevens.

Over eight years Stevens played in 108 NFL games with 42 starts, plus six playoff games. He earned a ring for Super Bowl 36 by playing in 15 regular season games (plus all three postseason games) with four starts for the Pats that year, with one pick, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. A few weeks after that victory Houston selected Stevens in their expansion draft. In 2007 Stevens was paralyzed from the waist down after a motorcycle accident, but after several years of rehabilitative therapy he regained the ability to walk.

July 3, 2011 - Matt Stevens, NFL Paraplegic Becomes Bionic Man, Walks Again - Houston News Today




Matt Stevens passed away a year ago at the age of 51.






March 16, 2004:
The Patriots re-sign unrestricted free agents Je'Rod Cherry and Patrick Pass





March 16, 2006:
Tyrone Poole is released






March 16, 2009:
- Unrestricted free agent defensive lineman Mike Wright is re-signed to a four-year contract
- Unrestricted free agent offensive tackle Wesley Britt is re-signed
- Unrestricted free agent safety Tank Williams is re-signed
- Exclusive rights free agent safety Ray Ventrone is re-signed
- Miami Dolphins unrestricted free agent center Al Johnson signs

It says in the OP that Vrabel got the 3 sack record held by Henry Thomas. Yet I went to the Green Bay game in 1985 where both Tippet and Blackmon got 3 each in that game.
What am I missing (with my power out)?

March 16, 2010:
Team announces the New England Patriots' All Decade Team of the 2000's

The New England Patriots Hall of Fame Nomination Committee, a 22-person panel made up of reporters, alumni and staff, gathered at The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon yesterday to nominate three finalists for this year’s Patriots Hall of Fame. The finalists will be announced next month and fans will have an opportunity to vote on the Patriots website, www.patriots.com, for the player they feel is most deserving of hall of fame induction.

In addition, the committee also had an opportunity to nominate, debate and select the franchise’s all-decade team for the past decade. The team consists of 11 offensive, 11 defensive, four special teams players and one head coach. Four of the 27 members were also members of the 1990s All-Decade Team. Willie McGinest was named to the 1990s All-Decade Team as a defensive end and to the 2000s All-Decade Team as an outside linebacker. He joins cornerback Ty Law, safety Lawyer Milloy and kicker Adam Vinatieri as the four players with the distinction of being on both teams.

The 2000s All-Decade Team is listed below. Players at the same position are listed alphabetically. The list of each of the all-decade teams is attached.

OFFENSE
Pos......Name
OT.......Nick Kaczur
OT.......Matt Light
G.........Joe Andruzzi
G..........Logan Mankins
C..........Dan Koppen
TE........Daniel Graham
WR......Troy Brown
WR......Randy Moss
WR......Wes Welker
QB.......Tom Brady
RB........Corey Dillon

DEFENSE
Pos.........Name
DE..........Richard Seymour
DE..........Ty Warren
NT..........Vince Wilfork
OLB.......Willie McGinest
OLB.......Mike Vrabel
ILB.........Tedy Bruschi
ILB.........Roman Phifer
CB.........Ty Law
CB.........Asante Samuel
S............Rodney Harrison
S............Lawyer Milloy

SPECIAL TEAMS
Pos........Name
K............Adam Vinatieri
P............Josh Miller
Ret........Kevin Faulk
SpT.......Larry Izzo
Head Coach.....Bill Belichick






March 16, 2010 on PatsFans:




March 16, 2011 on PatsFans:




March 16, 2012:





March 16, 2013:
Patriots re-sign CB Kyle Arrington and CB Aqib Talib, and release WR Brandon Lloyd. In the three previous days the Pats had signed Danny Amendola (after Wes Welker signed with the Broncos); signed KR/RB Leon Washington (after Seattle had released him, signing Percy Harvin as his replacement on kickoffs); signed former Buffalo WR Donald Jones and former Arizona safety Adrian Wilson. Wilson was brought on after Patrick Chung signed with Philadelphia. Offensive lineman Donald Thomas also departed, signing with the Colts; the Pats would soon sign Will Svitek to take his place for depth on the o-line. The Pats also re-signed backup linebacker/core special teamer Niko Koutouvides.















March 16, 2014:
The Patriots take a breather after signing Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Brandon LaFell and re-signing Julian Edelman in the previous few days.

borisman said:

It says in the OP that Vrabel got the 3 sack record held by Henry Thomas. Yet I went to the Green Bay game in 1985 where both Tippet and Blackmon got 3 each in that game.
What am I missing (with my power out)?

Click to expand...

Not sure, I'll check out the links tomorrow.

March 16, 2015:
Vince Wilfork signs with the Houston Texans






Patriots officially announce the signing of Buffalo Bills TE Scott Chandler, which had first been reported three days earlier.

In 15 games with four starts, Chandler underwhelmed, catching 23 passes for 259 yards and four touchdowns. The Pats released Chandler the following March; it was later revealed that the reason for the release was a failed physical stemming from a knee injury suffered early in the 2015 season that he played with throughout the year. The injury turned out to be career-ending, as no other team showed any interest in him at that point.








March 16, 2016:
Patriots sign RB Donald Brown, trade for Bears TE Martellus Bennett and sign Chicago LB Shea McClellin





March 16, 2017:
Literally thousands of comments at the time, regarding RFA Malcolm Butler on Pats Fans.





March 16, 2018:
Patriots sign Atlanta DE Adrian Clayborn, Cincinnati RB Jeremy Hill, Seattle OT Matt Tobin and lose ST Johnson Bademosi to Houston.













March 16, 2019:

March 16, 2020:
Patriots place franchise tag on Joe Thuney

This to me was the final piece of several decisions that set the wheels in motion for Tom Brady to sign with Tampa Bay two days later.

In a surprise move, the Patriots have placed the franchise tag on left tackle Joe Thuney. The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride was the first to have this report. So, instead of hitting free agency on Wednesday, he still belongs to the Patriots who now will owe him a cool $14.781 million in 2020.

Thuney’s money officially goes on the books on March 18, at 4:00 p.m. That means that unless they start renegotiating with some of their established stars (Gilmore, Hightower) to create some cap space, they aren’t going to have much cap space left. That, on the surface, doesn’t bode well for the return of Tom Brady.

But…this could be the Patriots deciding to tag and then trade Thuney and thereby getting some draft capital for him today rather than a compensatory pick for him next spring. And a bigger point to consider is that by tagging and trading Thuney, the Patriots can dictate where he goes. More to that below. However, the Patriots released a statement saying they are tagging Thuney to try to work out a long-term deal. . . .

On the tight end front, with Hunter Henry tagged, Austin Hooper is moving to Cleveland and the Cowboys have signed TE Blake Jarwin to a long-term deal, seemingly moving on from Jason Witten. One thing is for sure, the market for TEs is drying up quickly.

A bit of foreshadowing to 2021 with that last line. . .



While the world rushed the aisles of stores to hoard the last of the toilet paper supply, the vote for the NFL’s new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) narrowly passed 1019-959 with about 500 players not even voting.

If the Player’s Union wanted to send a strong message to the owners, they perhaps sent the wrong one. With about 20 percent of the members not even voting, it tells the ownership that the union is fragmented and weak. That won’t bode well down the road.

The big takeaways from the new CBA is that there will now be a 17-game season with one less preseason game. The seven-team playoff format with only one team getting a bye means that more teams will be resting players down the stretch.

So, on to the Patriots and the possibility of bringing Tom Brady back, the new CBA should help that along. The 30-percent rule is no more so it “should” be easier to backload a contract for multiple seasons that may be agreeable to both Brady and the Patriots. This “should” make it easier for the team to restructure guys like Stephon Gilmore and Dont’a Hightower, because with the Slater re-signing and the news of Devin McCourty’s return (more below) the Patriots are running out of cap space.

With the new CBA, the sticky subject of voidable years has also been addressed as well. The Patriots added two voidable years to his deal last year, those are not allowed if the CBA is in its final year, which the league was in until Sunday. Now the team and Brady can add the voidable years to the back end of the contract, which will give the team some measure of cap space relief.

The rumored Brady to Tennessee train totally derailed on Sunday when it was announced that the Titans were giving Ryan Tannehill a big new contract with over $91 million in guaranteed money. That supposed door is closed. What’s left for Brady now? In reality, not much. The Tampa Bay Bucs, the Patriots, or perhaps that “mystery team” that we’ve been reading about. We’ll see; unless something totally crazy happens in the next day or so, the chances of Brady returning should be much better.

Is Tampa closer to a Super Bowl than New England?

Actually, yes - very much so, as it turned out.








March 16, 2020:
Tight end Ben Watson retires at the age of 39







March 16, 2020:
Kyle Van Noy signs with Miami





March 16, 2020:
Jamie Collins signs with Detroit





March 16, 2021:
The Patriots sign Chargers TE Hunter Henry










I have to admit, I had to look up who Watson (Deshaun) and Wilson (Russell) before reading this old QB-speculation thread:






March 16, 2022:
On the official start of the new league year, TE Troy Fumagalli and KR Gunner Olszewski were not tendered, making them free agents. The Raiders then signed two NE unrestricted free agents: RB Brandon Bolden and FB Jakob Johnson, while the Pats signed Houston CB Terrance Mitchell.









March 16, 2023:
Patriots re-sign LB Mack Wilson and LS Joe Cardona





March 16, 2024:





March 16, 2025:


Well, if you were waiting for the Patriots to make some moves in free agency, they certainly did that. The team got the #1 defensive free agent on the market and overall bolstered the defense significantly.

It is still early in the process, and as everyone on sports talk radio has reminded us, the Patriots haven’t addressed LT and WR (they did, but not the shiny hood ornament). However, they still have more to do with both of those positions.

Depending on how the board plays out, I want them to draft an LT in the first or second round of the NFL Draft. But that still wouldn’t stop me from signing left tackle Tyron Smith, the future Hall of Famer. Smith is 34 and declining due to a myriad of injuries he’s had. But as a hired gun, stop-gap left tackle? I’d take him in an instant.

Smith isn’t a long-term answer. Heck, he may not even last the entire 2025 season. But his technique and physical tools are still there. He can still provide some outstanding games when he’s feeling good. It will give the rookie time to acclimate to the speed of the NFL. Everyone is talking about Smith’s Week 9 matchup with the Texans. And for good reason.

In that game, Smith put two of the best pass rushers in the league, Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, on a milk carton that week.

As for wide receiver, we all saw the report that they weren’t in at all on Cooper Kupp. They did, however, make a concerted play for Chris Godwin, offering a lot more than the Bucs did (reports were $20 million more), but he wanted to stay in Tampa. I’m sure his family, the weather, taxes, and the fact that the Bucs were a playoff team last year were factors.

But like Cupp, Godwin has had injury issues. That’s why it was interesting that they were in on one but not the other. But the injury aspect may not have played a factor in their decision.

Wide Receiver, Running Back, and Tight End will also get addressed in the NFL Draft along with the left tackle.






March 16, 2026:

In memory of Mike Dukes, who would have been 90 today
Born March 16, 1936 in Louisville, Kentucky
Died in an auto accident on June 16, 2008 at the age of 72 in Beaumont, Texas
Patriot linebacker, 1964-65; uniform #54
Signed as a 28-year old veteran free agent in 1964
Pats résumé: two seasons, 25 games (11 starts); two interceptions, 2½ sacks

Mike Dukes was drafted by the 49ers in 1959, out of Clemson. He was a starting outside linebacker with the Houston Oilers from 1960 to 1963, winning two AFL championships. The Pats signed him just before the start of the 1964 season, after being waived by Buffalo. He played in all 14 games that year, with six starts, then was released during training camp the following year. The Jets signed Dukes, then traded him back to the Patriots on September 27. Dukes played in each of the remaining 11 games with five starts, and retired the following year.

Happy 55th birthday to Steve Hawkins
Born March 16, 1971 in Detroit
Patriot wide receiver, 1994; uniform #80
Sixth round (166th overall) selection of the 1994 draft, from Western Michigan
Pats résumé: one season, seven games (zero starts); two receptions

Hawkins went on IR in December, then was chosen by Carolina in February of 1995 in the expansion draft. The Panthers released him during the '95 preseason, and he never caught on with any other NFL team.

Aug 19, 1994 — Hawkins caught scoring passes of 5 and 22 yards as the Patriots, taking advantage of a pair of Washington fumbles, scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to win 27-17 in Foxborough.






Happy 47th birthday to Rashad Moore
Born March 16, 1979 in Huntsville, Alabama
Patriot defensive tackle, 2007; uniform #95
Signed as a veteran free agent on June 8, 2007
Pats résumé: one season, one training camp, three games

Moore played with the Pats in all four of the 2007 preseason games before being released on September 1 in the final roster cutdown. The Patriots re-signed him on December 19; he played in a week 16 28-7 win over Miami, and was active but did not play in the week 17 38-35 win against the Giants. Moore was inactive for the divisional round win versus Jacksonville, then played in the AFCCG game against San Diego as well as the super bowl loss to NYG. He became a restricted free agent in the offseason, but the Patriots did not offer him a tender. From 2003 to 2007 Moore played in 44 NFL games.






Happy 38th birthday to Jeremy Ross
Born March 16, 1988 in Sacramento
Patriot WR/KR/PR, 2011; uniform #82
Signed as an undrafted rookie free agent from Cal on July 27, 2011
Pats résumé: one offseason, training camp and preseason

Ross went on to play through the 2016 season with multiple teams, primarily Detroit, after he was cut by the Pats at the end of his rookie training camp. He finished his career with an 11.2 yard average on 78 punt returns with one TD, 24.4 yards per on 77 kickoff returns, and 11.8 yards per catch on 43 receptions, with three more TD.






In memory of Condie Pugh, who would have turned 76 today
Born March 16, 1950 in Mobile, Alabama
Died September 19, 2015 at the age of 65
Patriot running back, 1973; uniform #??
Selected in the 15th round (368th overall) in the 1973 draft, from Norfolk State
Pats résumé: one offseason, training camp and preseason

Condie Pugh was a late pick in the same draft that the Pats chose John Hannah, Sam Cunningham, Darryl Stingley and Ray Hamilton. Pugh did not make Chuck Fairbanks' roster as a backup behind Cunningham, Josh Ashton and John Tarver. He later signed on with the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos in 1974 and the New Orleans Saints in 1975, but never appeared in any regular season NFL games.







John Mangum, 59 (March 16, 1967)
His father John Mangum was a DT for the Patriots in 1966-67
The younger Mangum played safety in 105 games for the Bears from 1990-98.


Frank Marion, 75 (March 16, 1951)
His brother Fred Marion was a Pro Bowl FS with the Patriots from 1982-91, with 29 picks
Frank was a linebacker for the Giants from 1977 to 1983.





Garry Cobb, 69 (March 16, 1957)
Raised in Stamford CT; Stamford High School
Linebacker played in 142 games with 108 starts from 1979-89 for the Lions, Eagles and Cowboys.


Ellis Jones (March 16, 1921 - Feb 24, 2002)
Old defunct New England pro football franchises
Jones was an 8th round 1945 pick by the Boston Yanks, playing in all eight games that season on both sides of the line.

Click below for a great story and photos of Ellis Jones:

Ozzie Newsome, 70 (March 16, 1956)
Cleveland Browns TE, 1978-1990
Scout, Front Office for Browns/Ravens, 1991-present


















Joe DeLamielleure, 75 (March 16, 1951)