Today in Patriots History
May 6 Patriot Birthdays
Happy 33rd birthday to Marcus Cannon
Born May 6, 1988 in Odessa, Texas
Patriot OT, 2011-2020; uniform #61
Pats 5th round (138th overall) selection of the 2011 draft, from TCU
On April 20, 2011, just days before Texas Christian offensive line prospect Marcus Cannon was to enter the NFL Draft, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a treatable form of cancer found in lymph tissue. A little more than one week later, the Pats selected Cannon in the fifth round (138th overall) of the draft with the knowledge of his illness. The Patriots placed Cannon on the Reserve/Non Football Injury list to start the 2011 season while he received treatment and recovered. Cannon was activated to the 53-man roster later that year and is now set to enter his ninth season with the team.
Cannon made a full recovery and was named the Patriots 2011 Ed Block Courage Award winner - an annual award presented to select players in the National Football League who are voted by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship and courage.
Marcus Cannon proceeded to play in 115 regular season games with 69 starts: 64 at right tackle, three at left guard, and two at left tackle. He has also played in 19 playoff games, with the Pats going 14-5 in those contests - and has earned three Super Bowl rings.
The draft picks used for Cannon and Stevan Ridley were acquired in draft day trade with Houston. In exchange the Texans received a second round (60th overall) pick used on safety Brandon Harris - who has been out of the league since 2014, after a 42-game career with zero starts. On March 17 New England traded Marcus, a 5th and 6th round draft pick to Houston in exchange for a 4th and 6th; doing so allows Cannon to finish his NFL career closer to home.
Happy 50th birthday to Derwin Williams
Born May 6, 1961 in Brownwood, Texas
Patriot WR, 1984-1987; uniform #82
Pats 7th round (192nd overall) selection of the 1984 draft, from New Mexico
Williams appeared in 42 regular season games plus two playoff games with the Pats. He had 14 receptions for 228 yards, went on to become a Loss Prevention Supervisor for CVS in Rhode Island. Williams moved to Florida to give his son more time to play baseball (he is now with the Mets), and became a football official in Conference USA.
WR, #82 Height: 6’1 Weight: 185 Yrs/Pat: 3 Acquired: 1984 (192nd) School: New Mexico Major: Physical Education Born: May 6, 1961 Brownwood TX Career Highlights Another in a long list of reliable wide receivers for the Patriots Selected in the seventh round of the 1984 NFL draft by the Patriots...
patriotsalumni.com
Happy 57th birthday to Mike "Scooter" McGruder
Born May 6, 1964 in Cleveland
Patriot CB, 1996-1997; uniform #27
Signed as a veteran free agent on April 5, 1996
The final two of his nine NFL seasons were in Foxboro, where McGruder played in 17 games. Scooter was on the Patriot AFC Championship team that lost to Green Bay in the Super Bowl. Previously he had been with the Packers, Dolphins, 49ers and Bucs.
MIKE “SCOOTER” MCGRUDER BIO Mike “Scooter” McGruder is a former NFL player. Over his 12-year career, Mike has played in championship games for the Miami Dolphins, the San Francisco 49ers, and in Super Bowl XXXI with the New England Patriots. During Mike’s tenure in San Francisco, he became the...
platinumcharities.org
Happy 50th birthday to Rob Holmberg
Born May 6, 1971 in McKeesport, PA
Patriot LB, 2000-2001; uniform #47
Signed as a veteran free agent on July 23, 2000
Rob Holmberg appeared in all 16 games for the Pats in 2000, with five starts, plus two more games in October of 2001. Overall Holmberg played in 112 games over eight NFL seasons with seven different teams, almost exclusively as a special teamer and backup MLB.
FOXBORO —Living the nomadic life of a free-agent football player isn't just tough on the individual.
www.thesunchronicle.com
Happy 56th birthday to Howard Feggins
Born May 6, 1965 in South Hill, Virginia
Patriot CB, 1988-1989; uniform #27
Signed as an undrafted rookie free agent on May 3, 1988, from UNC
Feggins appeared in eleven games with the Pats in '89, with one interception. He also played in NFL Europe and the CFL, and since then has worked as a college assistant coach.
FOLLOW COACH FEGGINS ON TWITTER Howard Feggins joined the ThunderWolves coaching staff in 2018 as the running backs coach and has transitioned to coach the wide
gothunderwolves.com
Happy 30th birthday to Josh Boyce
Born May 6, 1991 in Copperas Cove, Texas
Patriot WR, 2013-2014; uniform #82
Pats 4th round (102nd overall) selection of the 2013 draft, from TCU
As a rookie Boyce played in nine games, returning 21 kickoffs and catching nine passes on 19 targets for 121 yards. He spent most of 2014 on the practice squad, activated for the final regular season game with no stats; he was a healthy inactive for all three playoff games. Boyce was IR-waived at the end of the 2015 training camp. He spent most of the 2016 off-season with Indy before being cut after the first preseason game. Boyce spent 2016 on Cleveland's practice squad and was cut at the end of training camp in 2017. He has not played any pro football since then.
His final NFL stat line (all with the Pats) reads 10 games played, 9 receptions on 19 targets for 121 yards (13.4 ypc) with a long of 30 yards, and zero touchdowns. Boyce also had nine kickoff returns for 214 yards (23.8 ypr) with a long of 41, for a total of 335 all-purpose yards.
On a side note, he draft picks used on Boyce, Jamie Collins and Logan Ryan were obtained from Minnesota in exchange for New England's first round pick, which the Vikings used on future Patriot Cordarrelle Patterson. More trivia: Boyce's high school quarterback was Robert Griffin.
Happy 35th birthday to Markus Kuhn
Born May 6, 1986 in Weinheim, Germany
Patriot DT, 2016 offseason; uniform #94
Signed as a veteran free agent on April 7, 2016
Kuhn was with the Pats in the 2016 off season, but was let go as part of final roster cuts in early September. He had previously played with the Giants for four seasons, but never seemed to fully overcome a 2015 knee injury.
Hours after he said goodbye to the Giants, Markus Kuhn said hello to the Patriots.
profootballtalk.nbcsports.com
May 6, 2016: Patriots sign UDFA Jonathan Jones
The New England Patriots announced today the signing of eight of their nine 2016 NFL Draft selections. In addition, Patriots signed eight rookie free agents today and released RB Joey Iosefa.
www.patriots.com
Jonathan Jones, 22, was a four-year starter at cornerback for Auburn, who finished his career with 129 total tackles and seven interceptions. The 5-foot-10, 181-pounder, ranked ninth nationally as a junior in 2014 with six interceptions.
The speedy undrafted rookie cornerback was quick to respond when the Patriots called.
www.bostonglobe.com
Jonathan Jones is always in a hurry. Whether it’s on the football field or away from it.
So when the Auburn cornerback, who was projected to be a fourth- or fifth-round pick in the NFL Draft, didn’t hear his name called last month, he got over it. In a hurry.
Shortly after Mr. Irrelevant was revealed at last month’s three-day draft, Joseph, who ran the fastest 40-yard dash among cornerbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine, wasted little time sifting through his offers and picking the Patriots.
“There were some teams I was talking to, but I think once I got the chance to talk with the coaches and talk with everyone in this organization, I knew this would be a great spot for me,’’ Jones said Thursday. “They preach here that you get what you earn here, so it’s kind of one of those places that as long as you put the hard work and dedication in, you’ll get the result.’’
Two other pro football players born on this date with New England connections:
George Tarasovic (May 6, 1930-Oct 24, 2019)
Bridgeport CT; Boston College
DE spent 13 seasons in the NFL, playing in 155 games, primarily with the Steelers.
John 'Kid' Hill (May 6, 1904-Dec 3, 1973)
Brighton MA; Portland (Maine) Prep; Amherst College
Tackle with the Giants back in the twenties.
