Patriots make a series of roster moves

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts – The New England Patriots announced today that have acquired WR Jalen Saunders in a trade with the New Orleans Saints in exchange for an undisclosed draft pick. The team also claimed rookie WR DaVaris Daniels off waivers from Minnesota.

    Additionally, the Patriots placed FB James Develin and rookie DB Darryl Roberts on Injured Reserve, placed LB Dane Fletcher and DL Chris Jones on the PUP/Reserve list and released G Chris Barker and rookie LB D.J. Lynch.

    Saunders, 22, originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick (104th overall) of the New York Jets out of Oklahoma in 2014. The 5-foot-9, 165-pounder, played in three games for the Jets before being released on Sept. 29, 2014. While with the Jets, Saunders returned six punts for 26 yards. He then spent time on the practice squads of Arizona and Seattle before being signed by New Orleans to the 53-man roster on Nov. 19, 2014. He played in six games for the Saints and caught one pass for seven yards and returned nine punts for 99 yards and three kickoffs for 139 yards, including a 99-yard return on his first career return.

    Daniels, 22, was originally signed by Minnesota as a rookie free agent out of Notre Dame on May 6, 2015. The 6-foot-1, 201-pounder, was released by Minnesota on Aug. 30, 2015.

    Barker, 25, was claimed off waivers by the Patriots from Miami on Sept. 1, 2013. The 6-foot-2, 300-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent by Miami out of Nevada on May 3, 2013. He played in four games as a rookie in 2013 with the Patriots. Last season, he spent the majority of the year on the New England practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster for a two-game stint in October.

    Lynch, 22, was signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Bowling Green on June 11, 2015. The 6-foot, 252-pounder, was released on Aug, 1 and re-signed on Aug. 24.



INJURED RESERVE

    Develin, 27, spent part of the 2010 and all of 2011 on the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad and most of 2012 on the New England practice squad. The 6-foot-3, 255-pounder, played in all 16 games for the Patriots over the last two seasons. Last year, he played in 16 games with four starts and played in all three postseason games, including Super Bowl XLIX. Develin played as a defensive lineman during his college career at Brown.

    Roberts, 24, was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round (247th overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Marshall. The 6-foot, 190-pounder, made 42 starts in his college career, second among cornerbacks in Marshall history.



RESERVE/PUP

    Fletcher, 28, is a veteran of five NFL seasons with New England (2010-13) and Tampa Bay (2014). The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder originally was signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Montana State on April 29, 2010. He signed with Tampa Bay as an unrestricted free agent on March 16, 2014. Fletcher has played in 54 NFL games with 10 starts and has 100 total tackles and 4½ sacks in his career.

    Jones, 25, was claimed off waivers and awarded to the Patriots from Tampa Bay on Sept. 11, 2013. The 6-foot-1, 295-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick (198th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft by Houston out of Bowling Green. After being released by Houston, he was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay before being released and claimed by the Patriots. Jones has played in 28 NFL games with 23 starts for the Patriots over the last two seasons and has 83 total tackles and nine sacks.

Patriots Make Roster Moves

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts – The New England Patriots made a series of roster moves in advance of tomorrow’s NFL mandatory NFL cut-down to a 75-man roster. The Patriots released five players: WR Josh Boyce, WR Jonathan Krause, TE Jimmay Mundine, DL Joe Vellano and LB Dekoda Watson.

    Boyce, 24, was originally drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round (102nd overall) in the 2013 NFL Draft out of Texas Christian. The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder, played in nine games with three starts as a rookie in 2013 and caught nine passes for 121 yards and returned nine kicks for 214 yards. Last season, Boyce began the season on the practice squad before being signed to the 53-man roster on Dec. 27. He played in the regular-season finale vs. Buffalo but did not record any statistics. He was inactive for all three postseason games.

    Krause, 23, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Cleveland Browns out of Vanderbilt in 2014. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder, was released by Cleveland prior to the start of the regular season and joined the New England practice squad last October.

    Mundine, 23, was signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Kansas on June 11, 2015. The 6-foot-2, 240-pounder, played in 45 games with 19 starts at tight end and closed his career as Kansas’ third-ranked tight end in terms of yards and receptions with 1,082 yards on 86 receptions.

    Vellano, 26, originally joined the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Maryland on May 3, 2013. The 6-foot-2, 300-pounder, made the 53-man roster as a rookie and played in 16 games with eight starts and also played in both postseason games that season. He finished the year with 48 total tackles and two sacks. Vellano began the 2014 season on the 53-man roster and then was part of the practice squad before being re-signed to the 53-man roster in the postseason. He played in five games with one start in the regular season and also saw action in the AFC Championship Game vs. Indianapolis. He finished the 2014 season with six total tackles and one sack.

    Watson, 27, was signed by the Patriots as a free agent on May 12, 2015. The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder, has played in 70 NFL games, with seven starts, and has registered 120 tackles, three sacks, one interception, four passes defensed, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries during his five-year NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2010-13), Jacksonville Jaguars (2014) and Dallas Cowboys (2014). Last season, he began the season with Jacksonville and appeared in nine games with one start. He posted nine tackles before being released on Nov. 11, 2014, and signing with Dallas on Nov. 14, 2014. He played in one game for the Cowboys, but did not accrue any statistics. He originally entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick (217th overall) by Tampa Bay in 2010 out of Florida State.