Today in Patriots History
More February 28 Trivia
February 28, 1993:
Patriots tender qualifying offers to QB
Tommy Hodson and CB
Maurice Hurst
The Pats selected Hodson in the third round of the 1990 draft, from LSU. He would re-sign a two-year contract in July - and then get cut a month later.
Hurst had just finished his fourth season as a starting CB for the Pats, and would play three more seasons in New England after signing a new contract in August. On a side note, his son Maurice Jr - who went to Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood - is now a DT with the Browns, and was a 5th round draft pick from Michigan in 2018.
February 28, 1994:
New England signs veteran free agent
Myron Guyton
The move reunited the 27-year old Guyton with Bill Parcells, who had drafted him from Eastern Kentucky when he was with Giants, in 1989. Guyton started at free safety for the Pats in 1994-95, with five interceptions and four fumble recoveries.
February 28, 1995:
The Patriots sign restricted free agent
Tim Roberts, after the Houston Oilers declined to match the Pats offer sheet. In return, New England had to send Houston a 1995 fifth round (159th overall) draft pick as compensation.
Originally a fifth round draft pick in 1992 from Southern Miss, the defensive end had played in 24 games with two starts in three seasons with the Oilers. Roberts lasted one season with New England, playing in 13 games (12 starts) in '95.
February 28, 2000:
The New England Patriots Monday agreed to terms on an undisclosed contract with Eric Bjornson, a tight end who played his previous five seasons with the...
www.upi.com
The New England Patriots Monday agreed to terms on an undisclosed contract with Eric Bjornson, a tight end who played his previous five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.
Bjornson, 28, replaces Ben Coates, who became a salary-cap casualty on February 9, just before the free agent signing period. Coates represented the Patriots in five Pro Bowls.
The 6-4, 236-pound Bjornson totaled 127 catches, 1,232 yards and four touchdowns with Dallas but lost his starting job to David LaFleur after the 1997 season.
As a starter in 1996 and 1997, Bjornson totaled 95 receptions for 830 yards and three touchdowns. He combined for only 25 catches, 349 yards and one TD over the last two years. He is expected to compete with Rod Rutledge for the starting job. The 6-5, 262-pound Rutledge is regarded as an excellent blocker but had only seven catches last season, his second in the NFL.
2000 was Bjornson's final season in the NFL. He played in the first eight games of the year, starting the first five - and after not playing in either of the next two games, was released on November 15. He had 20 receptions for 152 yards and two TD with the Patriots.
February 28, 2003:
Patriots sign LS Lonie Paxton -- Patriots.com
The New England Patriots have re-signed long snapper Lonie Paxton, who would have been a restricted free agent. Paxton, 24, joined the Patriots in 2000 and has appeared in 51 consecutive games, including three playoff games.
The 6-foot-2, 260-pound Paxton is best known for making a snow angel in the end zone after Adam Vinatieri's overtime field goal gave the team a 16-13 playoff victory over the Oakland Raiders in January 2002.
Two weeks later, he made a snow angel in the end zone of the Louisiana Superdome after Vinatieri's last-play field goal gave the Patriots a 20-17 Super Bowl win over the St. Louis Rams, even though there was no snow on the ground.
In three years, he has delivered 431 snaps with just three blocked kicks.
Paxton ended up snapping for the Patriots for nine years, through 2008, before finishing his career with three seasons in Denver.
February 28, 2005:
Phifer released -- Patriots.com
FOXBORO -- Veteran linebacker Roman Phifer, who played on all three of New England's Super Bowl winners, was released yesterday. Phifer, a 36-year-old 14-year veteran, was signed by the team as a f…
www.southcoasttoday.com
Veteran linebacker Roman Phifer, who played on all three of New England's Super Bowl winners, was released yesterday.
Phifer, a 36-year-old 14-year veteran, was signed by the team as a free agent in 2001 and played in 59 games in his four seasons with the Patriots. Phifer recorded 385 tackles, ranking second on the team over that span to Tedy Bruschi with 403. He led the team in tackles in 2002.
Phifer was originally selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 1991 NFL draft of of UCLA. He played eight years with the Rams in Los Angeles and St. Louis before signing with the New York Jets in 1999. He went to New England two years later, following Bill Belichick, who had been the Jets defensive coordinator before becoming the Patriots' head coach.
February 28, 2008:
Veteran Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi signs a reported multi-year deal to return to New England.
www.enterprisenews.com
He may be headed toward the age of 35, but it seems New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi still has the drive.
Hours before the NFL free agency period was to begin, Bruschi agreed to the terms of a contract that will bring him back to the Pats for a 13th season.
Citing a league source, the Boston Herald reported on its Web site Thursday night that the contract is actually a multiyear deal that could take him beyond 2008.
Bruschi’s production dropped from 124 tackles in 2006 to 99 stops in 2007, but he still led the team in that department for the second year in a row.
With the deal, Bruschi returns to the only NFL team he has ever known: New England selected Bruschi, who tied Derrick Thomas’ all-time NCAA Div. 1-A record with 52 career sacks while a member of Arizona’s “Desert Swarm” defense, in the third round of the 1996 NFL draft.
February 29, 2008:
FOXBOROUGH — The New England Patriots re-signed linebacker Tedy Bruschi on Friday, also agreed to deals with long snapper Lonie Paxton and wide receiver Kelley Washington and released tight end Kyle Brady. Bruschi will enter his…
www.sentinelandenterprise.com
The New England Patriots re-signed linebacker Tedy Bruschi on Friday, also agreed to deals with long snapper Lonie Paxton and wide receiver Kelley Washington and released tight end Kyle Brady.
Bruschi will enter his 13th season with the Patriots next season since being selected in the third round of the 1996 draft. He led the team in tackles the last two seasons, and for his career has 1,063 tackles, 30½ sacks and 12 interceptions.
Lonie Paxton will enter his ninth season in New England since signing as a rookie free agent out of Sacramento State in 2000. Washington was signed by the Patriots last March and played a key role on special teams last season.
Brady, a 13-year veteran, caught nine passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns last season after being signed by New England last March.
February 28, 2014:
The New England Patriots released safety Steve Gregory . The 31-year-old Gregory has played eight seasons, including the past two with the Patriots. The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder joined the Patriots as …
www.telegram.com
Gregory was headed into the final year of a three-year contract with New England but found himself a salary cap casualty.
www.boston.com
The New England Patriots will release veteran safety Steve Gregory today, according to a tweet from his agent, David Canter.
www.providencejournal.com
The Patriots began freeing up spending money for the looming free-agent period on Friday when they informed veteran safety Steve Gregory that he was being released. The move will save the Pats $2.85 million on the 2014 salary cap.
The move comes as only a mild surprise. Gregory has been solid on the field in the last two years with the Patriots. He had 79 tackles, fourth-highest on the team, this past season in 14 games. He missed two games with a thumb injury. The New York native and Syracuse grad also was a popular clubhouse figure, to the point where the other members of the defensive backfield called him “coach” because of his knowledge of the game.
However, Gregory is 31. He spent the first six years of his career with San Diego aftermaking the Chargers as an undrafted free agent. The three-year, $7-million dealhe signed with New England called for a $2.1-million salary for 2014 and, including the signing bonus he received, his salary cap number was $2.85 million.
The Pats still have Devin McCourty, whose contract runs out at the end of 2014, making him a candidate for a contract extension, and Duron Harmon at safety. Harmon developed nicely in his rookie season in 2013 and looked poised to challenge Gregory for a starting job. The decision to release Gregory seems to indicate the Patriots feel Harmon is ready for full-time duty. Harmon started three games last year, played in 15 and had 31 tackles and two interceptions.
February 28, 2025:
For a team that's in the middle of a significant rebuild, it looks like one key Patriots personnel executive may not be a part of things moving forward.
www.patsfans.com
He’s been here in New England since returning in 2023, but Stewart has familiarity with Rhule. The two worked together in Carolina before Rhule was fired during the 2022 season, with Stewart being let go the following February after the Panthers turned over the personnel department. They also were employed together at both Western Carolina and Temple back in the early days of their respective careers.
We didn't see much of Trace McSorley here in New England, and it appears that after a couple of stints elsewhere, he's heading back to where he started.
www.patsfans.com
We didn’t see much of Trace McSorley here in New England, and it appears that after a couple of stints elsewhere, he’s heading back to where he started.
McSorley played three seasons for the school from 2016-2018, and was selected originally by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round (197th overall) back in 2019. He
was signed by the Patriots in April of 2023, reuniting him with former Penn State head coach, Bill O’Brien, who had rejoined New England that offseason as the club’s offensive coordinator.
The Patriots had Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe at quarterback that preseason, with McSorley having come into that training camp competing for a spot on that depth chart. However, McSorley never seemed to put up much of a fight and he was released at the end of August, having seen limited playing time that preseason, where he completed just 1-of-4 (25%) for 4 yards, including two sacks.
He ultimately lost out to undrafted free agent Malik Cunningham, who put together enough on film that the Patriots kept him as their third quarterback until the Ravens signed him off New England’s practice squad that December.
