FOXBORO, MA — The Patriots added a linebacker on Monday, signing 25-year-old and former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel is 6’4″, 240 pounds, and was a third-round draft choice in 1997. He reportedly signed a four-year contract, but the exact terms of the contract are still unknown.
Vrabel may be remembered by most Patriots fans as the man who ended New England’s playoff run in 1998. Down 7-6 late in the fourth quarter in an AFC Divisional playoff game against the Steelers that year, Vrabel came in on quarterback Drew Bledsoe’s blind side and stripped the ball away. The Steelers recovered the fumble and went on to win the game.
The former Ohio State standout joins former Dolphin Larry Izzo who also signed with the Patriots last week. The recent acquisitions of both Vrabel and Izzo helps New England stockpile a linebacker position in which they’ve been depleted over the last two seasons.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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