Today in Patriots History
May 21 Triviality
May 21, 1981:
The NYS Historic Newspapers
nyshistoricnewspapers.org
"New England Patriots signed
Tony Sidor, tight end,
Timothy Golden, linebacker and
Michael Bush, wide receiver"
Golden left training camp after three days, then was re-signed on April 26, 1982. A DE at Florida, he beat out Bill Matthews and Bob Golic for a roster spot as a LB and played in 40 games from 1982-84, primarily on special teams. Golden finished his NFL career with the Eagles.
Media Archive Suite
patriots.1rmg.com
Sidor, from Syracuse University, never played in the NFL but had a very successful business career in upstate New York; he retired in 2023.
May 21, 1982:
The Patriots sign free agent LB
Mike Woods, who had played for the Baltimore Colts from 1979-1981. The back and knee problems he suffered through in '81 would turn out to be the least of Woods' problems. He would never play for the Patriots: a few days after signing with the Pats he would be shot and paralyzed in a robbery gone bad, when he went to pick up his father from a late night poker game. Woods was paralyzed; the 17-year old gunman was convicted of not only that crime, but also unrelated rape charges.
Professional Football Player. He played at the linebacker position for three seasons (1979 to 1981) in the National Football League with the Baltimore Colts. Born Michael Jay Woods, he attended Benedictine High School in Cleveland. After transferring from Ellsworth Community College in Iowa and...
www.findagrave.com
Michael Jay Woods 1954-2009 Survivors: Wife, Milyn McDowell Woods; children, Shaun Woods of University Heights, Anissa Hamilton of Euclid, Pasia Woods of Richmond Heights and Royce Woods of Richmond Heights; seven grandchildren; a great-grandson; and a sister Funeral: 11...
www.cleveland.com
A man in Ohio has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder 27 years after he fired a gunshot that investigators say caused a former NFL player's kidney-infection death this year.
www.espn.ph
May 21, 1983:
Patriots sign eighth round draft pick CB
Ronnie Lippett. The Miami Hurricane had a much better career than the '83 first round pick, Tony Eason. When he retired Lippett ranked sixth all time in Pats history with 24 interceptions (10th now).
Former Pats corner Ronnie Lippett, a Miami native, started 111 games for the Patriots from 1983 - 1991. He played some of his best games against the Miami Dolphins.
www.patriots.com
Lippett started three years at the University of Miami under coach Howard Schnellenberger. When he was a senior Ronnie attended a Dolphins camp at St. Thomas University, where they were practicing against the Saints. He and his teammates were unexpectedly asked to leave.
"They were allowing us to come over and watch, and that's what we did. We were standing on the sidelines and (then-Head Coach) Don Shula was having a bad day or something. He started telling us to get off the field and yelling at us. So we left and from that point on I wanted to be drafted by a team that would play against the Dolphins. I hated them after that."
"It's not as easy to pick on one man as it used to be," said Shula after Ronnie's first meeting with the Dolphins, a 34-24 loss at Miami. "But we'd obviously rather throw to Lippett's side than Clayborn's."
It wasn't always that way, however. Of his 24 career interceptions, 7 came from the hands of Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.
"When we played against those guys, you had [wide receiver] Mark Clayton who would talk so much. He and I got into a verbal altercation that ended up spilling out onto the field," said Lippett, a hint of the old tenacity in his voice. "You don't want it to spill over to the point where you'll get a 15-yard penalty, but you do want to be jacked up to the point where you can use that adrenaline to help you run a little faster and hit a little harder."
Lippett's good friend and fellow Patriots alumni Fred Marion was also his teammate at the University of Miami. That's where the two defensive backs met Clayton.
"We were playing against (Louisville) and I had two interceptions in the game, one for a touchdown. Fred intercepted another ball and Clayton made the tackle. Clayton went and kicked Fred in the head," he said emphatically. "[Marion] had a concussion so bad he was walking around the dorm with a teddy bear one night. Ever since then we were trying to find a way to get at him. Then when he ended up being on the Dolphins, that was another reason for us to hate the Dolphins."
While the University of Miami in the 1980s was sometimes called “Quarterback U,” its defense was known for its speed and its intensity. And a major part of that was because of the play of Ronnie Lippett. [...]
spacecoastdaily.com
Biography page for University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame member, Ronnie Lippett
www.umsportshalloffame.com
A look at the Patriots Team of the 80s, as selected by a panel at Gillette Stadium today.
www.boston.com
May 21, 2007:
Patriots re-sign linebacker
Junior Seau to a one-year contract.
FOXBORO — Junior Seau has a cast wrapped in black tape on his right forearm, the same arm he had raised to salute cheering fans minutes after he broke it.
www.capecodtimes.com
May 21, 2010:
New England signs former Seattle QB
Mike Teel and waives QB
Jeff Rowe and TE
Robbie Agnone.
Ex-Seahawk Mike Teel signed, Jeff Rowe, Robbie Agnone out.
www.boston.com
The New England Patriots released TE Robbie Agnone and QB Jeff Rowe today.
www.patriots.com
Agnone didn't have much of a shot at the roster after the Pats signed veteran TE Alge Crumpler, and drafted rookies Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Rowe was in a similar situation, with Tom Brady firmly entrenched as the starter, a second year QB they liked and trusted (Brian Hoyer), plus 7th round draft pick on QB Zac Robinson.
Teel was a star at Bill Belichick's favorite college, Rutgers. He also had a stronger arm than Rowe and seemed to have an outside shot at the #3 spot, or strong possibility for the practice squad. Instead he lasted exactly three weeks before also being waived.
May 21, 2012:
New England has four of seven draft picks under contract.
www.boston.com
The Patriots and sixth-round pick Nate Ebner have reached a contract agreement, the team has announced.
Ebner, a defensive back out of Ohio State, is a former rugby player who walked on for the Buckeyes and didn’t really have designs on a possible shot at the NFL until a standout pro day.
He gained a measure of notoriety after the Patriots made him the 197th pick in this year’s draft, since he played less than a handful of snaps on defense his final season at Ohio State (he was very good on special teams). But
film of him on the rugby pitch sporting a full beard on YouTube helped endear him to fans.
New England also announced that Wes Welker has signed his franchise tender, which was first reported last Tuesday and confirmed by Welker himself.
May 21, 2019:
Offensive tackle Jared Veldheer has told the Patriots he plans to retire and has been placed on the reserved/retired list by the team.
www.espn.com
Veteran offensive tackle Jared Veldheer, who had signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots on May 13, was placed on the reserved/retired list Tuesday after informing the team that he intended to retire.
The 31-year-old Veldheer had participated in the Patriots' voluntary organized team activity on Monday, according to video posted on the club's official website. He had been expected to provide experienced depth behind projected starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn, who is attempting to return from a torn Achilles.
He entered the NFL as a third-round draft choice of the Oakland Raiders out of Division II Hillsdale College, playing for Oakland (2010-2013), the Arizona Cardinals (2014-2017) and Denver Broncos (2018).
Veldheer, who was acquired by the Broncos in March of 2018, was a steadying influence for a Denver offensive line beset by injuries and lineup changes during the 2018 season. He started 12 games at right tackle for the Broncos, but he also didn't escape the team's rash of injuries. The 10-year veteran left one game with a concussion and missed four games with a knee injury.
The Patriots have a notable history of signing late-career veterans who might be seeking a final chance to win their first Super Bowl ring, and the team's hope was that Veldheer would fall into that category. The club had a need at the position after Trent Brown (Raiders) and LaAdrian Waddle (Bills) departed in free agency.
Veldheer could have provided insurance behind Wynn, the Patriots' top 2018 draft pick, in addition to being an option at right tackle in the event of an injury to starter Marcus Cannon.
The Patriots selected West Virginia offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste late in the third round of the 2019 NFL draft, and he is among a handful of younger players who will compete for a role as a swing tackle. That group also includes former practice-squad player Cole Croston (Iowa), Dan Skipper (Arkansas), Cedrick Lang (Texas-El Paso) and Tyree St. Louis (Miami).
May 21, 2019:
The deal would keep Edelman under contract through the 2021 season, when the wide receiver will be 35.
www.boston.com
Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, a three-time Super Bowl champ and the MVP of Super Bowl LIII, has signed a two-year extension that is worth up to $19 million in "new" money, a source told ESPN.
www.espn.com
The Patriots are giving Julian Edelman the two things every college graduate wants: money and job security.
According to an NFL Media report, Edelman, the MVP of Super Bowl LIII and a newly minted graduate of Kent State, will soon sign a two-year contract extension that includes a nice bump in pay.
According to multiple reports, the deal, which runs through 2021, includes an $8 million signing bonus and $12 million guaranteed.
May 21, 2021:
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)The Patriots signed veteran safety Adrian Colbert and running back Tyler Gaffney on Friday, bringing them to the maximum of 90 players on their roster in advance of the start …
www.fox16.com
The Patriots signed veteran safety Adrian Colbert and running back Tyler Gaffney on Friday, bringing them to the maximum of 90 players on their roster in advance of the start of their offseason training program next week.
Colbert, 27, joins his fourth NFL team since being drafted by the 49ers in 2017. He spent last season where he played for New York Giants coach and former longtime New England assistant Joe Judge, appearing in six games with a pair of starts. He made 21 appearances (12 starts) with San Francisco in 2017 and 2018 and spent 2019 in Miami, playing for former Patriots defensive assistant Brian Flores.
Colbert adds more depth to a secondary that lost safety Patrick Chung to retirement and didn’t re-sign cornerback Jason McCourty.
Gaffney, 30, is returning to New England after spending three seasons with the Patriots from 2014 to 2017 after being claimed off waivers from Carolina. The former Stanford standout never appeared in a regular-season game, but earned two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots during the 2014 and 2016 seasons.
He most recently spent time on the 49ers’ practice squad last season after announcing his retirement from the NFL in 2018. He also played three years of minor league baseball in 2011, 2012 and 2018.
