Morning News and Notes 2/15
FOOTBALL NOTES (2/15) — New England released veteran runningback Terry Allen yesterday, and replaced him by signing Raymont Harris, who according to head coach Bill Belichick is expected to be the lead back for the Patriots this season.
Harris was a candidate for the Patriots last season after the team brought him in for a tryout, but they elected to go with Allen instead. Harris was waived by Green Bay after the ’98 season but never signed with anyone and did not play during last season. New England head coach Bill Belichick had some good things to say about his new runningback.
“Raymont is a tackle-to-tackle, tough runner,” Belichick told the Boston Globe. “He’s always moving forward. I think he’ll bring a physical presence to the running game. I’m excited about having him on the team. He’s a dedicated, hard-working guy.”
New England will also see the return of Derrick Cullors when they return to Bryant College in July for training camp. Cullors missed 1999 with a knee injury and spent the year on injured reserve. The Patriots replaced him with Lamont Warren, but it now appears that Warren may be let go now that Cullors is healthy.
The team is apparently extremely interested in re-signing linebacker Tedy Bruschi, and will also make an effort to resume negotiations this week with Troy Brown who was reportedly visiting the Kansas City Chiefs today. They are also interested in bringing back recently released Bruce Armstrong and Ben Coates at a reduced pay rate, but that appears unlikely.
New England also announced which players will be allocated to play in NFL Europe. The players selected were receiver Sean Morey, and linebacker Marc Megna. The players allocated for the NFL Europe draft were linemen Noel Scarlett and Garrett Johnson. Quarterback Michael Bishop will not play in Europe, as the Patriots have decided to keep him in Foxboro to learn the new offensive system.
POSITION ANALYSIS: The first edition of the position-by-position analysis was released today by Bob George regarding the quarterback position. The article talks about the ongoing debate between quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe and Michael Bishop, and the pros-and-cons of both players.
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