Today in Patriots History
Pats sign rookie QB Jacoby Brissett,
and other 21st Century June 16 Tidbits
June 16, 2006:
The Patriots today cut rookie free agents Remi Ayodele and Jakari Wallace.
www.boston.com
The Patriots today announced the release of two rookie free agents — defensive lineman Remi Ayodele and wide receiver Jakari Wallace. Both were longshots to make the roster.
Ayodele, 23, was signed by the Patriots on May 8, 2006, and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played in 24 games with eight starts from 2004-05. The 6-foot-2-inch, 300-pound defensive lineman collected 22 tackles in his two seasons with the Sooners, including four sacks. Ayodele also played two junior college seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
Wallace, 23, was signed by the Patriots on May 15, 2006, and attended the University of Minnesota, where he played in 31 games from 2002-05. The 5-foot-8-inch, 170-pound wide receiver's college totals include 40 career receptions for 603 yards (15.1 avg) and one touchdown. The Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. native also recorded 17 career rushes for 90 yards (5.3 avg) and a touchdown.
June 16, 2008:
Mike Dukes passes away at the age of 72.
The linebacker from Clemson played pro football from 1959 to 1965, including 25 games with nine starts for the Pats in 1964-1965.
Professional Football Player. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he played at the linebacker position for six seasons in the American Football League (1960 to 1965) with the Houston Oilers, Boston Patriots and New York Jets. He was a member of two AFL championship teams (1960 and 1961 Oilers). After...
www.findagrave.com
Mike Dukes, LB -- Fenway Park Diaries
He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 14th round of the 1959 NFL Draft, but signed with the Houston Oilers in the newly formed American Football League. He played in Houston for four years and was named to the All-AFL Team in 1960 and 1961, before moving on to play with the Boston Patriots. With the Patriots he played linebacker in 1964 and 1965, until he was traded to the New York Jets.
After football, he moved to Beaumont, Texas in the early 1980s and became the general manager for Burks Valve Inc in 1993. Mike Dukes died in a car crash on June 16, 2008, at age 72, in Beaumont, Texas.
View Mike Dukes's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.
www.legacy.com
Mike was a native of Lexington, Kentucky, and lived in Beaumont for 23 years. He was the owner and operator of Mity Quik Hot Shot Service in Beaumont. He also retired from Carter Chamber Supply Company in Beaumont after 13 years of service. Mike also had a remarkable football career, beginning with his college days at Clemson University where he played in the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl during his junior and senior years. He began his professional football career with the San Francisco 49ers in 1959. He then played for the Houston Oilers from 1960 to 1963. Mike retired after playing the 1964 and 1965 seasons with the Boston Patriots.
June 16, 2009:
Offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger became the first of the Patriots' 12 draft picks to sign a contract with the team.
www.boston.com
As expected, the Patriots announced the signing of fourth-round pick Rich Ohrnberger today. Ohrnberger reached terms with the team last week on a four-year deal worth approximately $2.20 million, including a $451,000 signing bonus.
Ohrnberger’s agent, Joe Linta, said last Friday that he expected the rookie offensive lineman to sign the contract early this week.
The guard out of Penn State becomes the first of the Patriots’ 12 draft picks to sign with the team.
The 6-2, 291-pound Ohrnberger was taken with the No. 123 overall pick, which the Patriots obtained by sending the two fifth-round picks they received from Philadelphia for cornerback Ellis Hobbs to the Baltimore Ravens, who also sent a sixth-round pick (long snapper Jake Ingram) back to New England.
Ohrnberger started 34 straight games for Penn State after cracking the starting lineup as a sophomore in 2006. Last season, he earned first-team All-Big Ten honors.
June 16, 2010:
Punter Zoltan Mesko will sign a four-year deal with New England.
www.boston.com
The Patriots and fifth-round draft pick Zoltán Meskó have reached an agreement on a four-year contract.
Mesko, a Michigan product who became the first non-position player in Wolverine history to be voted a team captain, will receive a total of $1.977 million, which includes just over $187,000 as a signing bonus. There are standard rookie escalators on the back end of the deal.
The 24-year old native of Romania was the 150th pick in the draft — he was chosen 49 spots ahead of his favorite NFL player, fellow Michigan alum Tom Brady, was in his draft year.
FOXBORO — Zoltan Mesko impressed the New England Patriots so much that they made him the first punter drafted this year. And now he's the only player at that position in the team's camp.
www.southcoasttoday.com
The Patriots would like to keep a punter for more than three years.
The last one they drafted, Pat O'Neill in 1994, stayed only two. He was followed by Tom Tupa (three), Lee Johnson (two plus), Ken Walter (two plus), Josh Miller (three), Walter again (four games) and Chris Hanson (three) seasons. Hanson is a free agent after the Patriots didn't re-sign him.
So New England spent a fifth-round pick on the 6-foot-5 son of a former professional bowler from Romania who moved to the United States at age 11, spent a year in New York then relocated in Ohio.
June 16, 2014:
The Patriots have waived first-year tight end Kyle Auffray, the former University of New Hampshire product who was attempting to beat long odds to earn a roster spot.
www.espn.com
The Patriots have waived first-year tight end Kyle Auffray, the former University of New Hampshire product who was attempting to beat long odds to earn a roster spot.
The 27-year-old Auffray signed with the Patriots seven days ago, and took part in voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) last week.
Auffray began his college career as a quarterback at Mississippi State in 2006-07 before transferring to UNH, where he played in 16 games over two seasons. As a senior in 2010, he totaled four receptions for 34 yards. Auffray spent two months with the Cardinals in the offseason last year, before he was released prior to the start of training camp.
Kyle Auffray was a little surprised when Patriots director of player personnel Nick Casario wanted to speak with him Monday.
www.recordonline.com
Kyle Auffray was a little surprised when Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio wanted to speak with him Monday.
Auffray thought he peformed well during the team's organized team activities last week, taking some first-team snaps and catching passes from Tom Brady.
Caserio told Auffray, a 2005 Cornwall graduate, that his time with the Patriots has ended after one week.
Auffray was being cut.
The Patriots were running short on healthy defensive tackles and needed to bring in a healthy one, Auffray was told.
Auffray's release could be temporary.
"I talked to Nick today and he said basically every time I've come up there I've been more impressive every time and this week is no different," said Auffray, who was one of five tight ends participating in the workouts. "He said their plan is to bring me back. They could re-sign me next week or they might wait right before camp or during camp. They just need to look at some other guys this week. He literally said, 'You were our only option to make a move with right now.'"
There was an bit of lack of communication between the front office and coaching staff regading the tight end.
His position coach had no idea about the transaction.
Auffray stopped by tight ends coach Brian Daboll's office to tell him the news.
"He thought I was joking," said Auffray, who is a 6-foot-5 and 253 pounds.
Auffray said he had visited or worked out with the Patriots four times in the last year before joining New England. Last week, Auffray had received an official letter from coach Bill Belichick inviting him to next month's training camp. NFL teams can carry 90 players into camp.
"It was a last-minute move that they had to make for this week," Auffray said. "They are only going to have two days of minicamp on Tuesday and Wednesday. So I'm not really missing much. When they sign me back, I'll be good to go."
The Patriots never did re-sign Auffray. He signed offseason contracts with the Browns and Raiders and was in each of their 2014 training camps, but never played in a regular season NFL game.
June 16, 2016:
New England signed third-round pick Jacoby Brissett on Thursday, according to The Boston Globe‘s Ben Volin. With the signing of Brissett, the Patriots have signed their entire nine-player rookie draft class. #Patriots third round QB Jacoby Brissett has signed his 4-year contract this morning...
www.boston.com
The Patriots have reportedly signed quarterback Jacoby Brissett, meaning all nine of the team's 2016 draft picks are now under contract.
www.cbsnews.com
New England signed third-round pick Jacoby Brissett on Thursday, according to The Boston Globe‘s Ben Volin. With the signing of Brissett, the Patriots have signed their entire nine-player rookie draft class.
Despite the ongoing contract negotiations, Brissett attended the Patriots’ rookie minicamp, voluntary workouts, and mandatory OTAs.
Here are are the rest of the reported details on the other rookie signings. . .
June 16, 2019:
John Charles passes away at the age of 75
A first round selection of the 1967 draft out of Purdue, Charles had six interceptions as a three-year starter for the Pats from 1967-1969 before being sent to Minnesota as compensation for the Pats signing Vikings QB
Joe Kapp.
Professional Football Player. For eight seasons (1967 to 1974), he played at the cornerback and safety positions in the American and National Football Leagues with the Boston Patriots, Minnesota Vikings and Houston Oilers. Born John James Charles, he made his initial impact on the football field...
www.findagrave.com
J ohn Charles, a member of the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 75 in Houston.
purduesports.com
June 16, 2022:
New England is very tight to the salary cap at the moment.
www.masslive.com
The Patriots have agreed to terms with a another member of their 2022 NFL Draft class.
Pierre Strong has signed his four-year, $4.37 million rookie deal, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. New England has been slow to sign their rookie class, as they only had $1.7 million in cap space prior to inking Strong, so they’ll need to move some money around before training camp opens next month. First-rounder Cole Strange, second-rounder Tyquan Thornton, and fellow fourth-rounder Bailey Zappe all remain unsigned.
At mandatory minicamp last week, Strong was returning kickoffs, and excelling in that role could be his ticket to a spot on the 53-man roster. He’s looking up at Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson, James White on the running back depth chart, so he’ll need to separate himself from J.J. Taylor on special teams. That doesn’t seem to bother the North Dakota State product.
“I’m more so a ‘do anything for the team’ type of guy,” Strong said after being drafted. “Anything concerning just helping the team out anyway I can: out the backfield, special teams, anything that helps us. That’s just my style, I’m just willing to help the team win a Super Bowl, that’s just me.
“Wherever New England needs me to play, that’s what I’m gonna do. Anything they need me to do, that’s what I’m gonna do. That’s the type of person and player I am, so I’m not coming in mainly focusing on one thing, I’m focusing on whatever coach wants me to focus on.”
