Report: Patriots Bolster Roster With Two Moves
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Tuesday's are generally off days at Gillette Stadium. This generally means quiet days from the New England Patriots -- This Tuesday was a much busier Tuesday than most. The Patriots have reportedly agreed to trade for linebacker Akeem Ayers from the Tennessee Titans and sign free-agent defensive tackle Alan Branch. This news came along with a report from the Boston Globe's Shalise Manza Young that defensive end Chandler Jones has a hip injury and could miss a month of action.
The day started with news of the trade for Ayers from the Titans. The 4th-year linebacker was acquired from Tennessee along with a 2015 7th-round draft pick for the Patriots' 6th-round draft pick in 2015, contingent on Ayers passing a physical. The news of the trade was broken on Twitter by an unlikely source -- Ayers' brother Kevin. Kevin Ayers tweeted from his Twitter account (@Kevin_Ayers) "So my brother is a patriot now". Moments later veteran Titans reporter Jim Wyatt was the first member of the media to report the trade when he Tweeted:
Been told #Titans are trading LB Akeem Ayers to the #Patriots. The only thing that would prevent is a failed physical
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) October 21, 2014
Ayers, the former 39th overall pick by the Titans, has recorded 232 tackles over his four-year career. His best career year came in 2012 when he played in all 16 games and recorded 104 tackles and six sacks. He played in 16 games in 2013, but was playing through injuries that required surgeries on both knees. He has also fallen out of favor due to a new defensive system in Tennessee, playing in just two games and recording three tackles.
Ayers has an explosive first step and does a good job creating pressure off the edge. This move not only fills a need for quality linebacker depth, but could help combat the loss of pass rush with Jones sidelined.
Hours after the trade reports of the Ayers trade the Boston Globe's Shalise Manza Young released a report that Chandler Jones, who was not at Patriots practice today, missed practice due to a hip injury that could sideline him a month:
Chandler Jones missed practice today due to a hip injury – according to league source, it is expected to sideline him about a month
— shalise manza young (@shalisemyoung) October 21, 2014
Jones has played in all seven of the Patriots games in 2014, showing growth as an edge rusher but struggling when placed in a foreign role such as a defensive end in the 3-4 defense. Jones has 26 tackles and 4.5 sacks to go along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Shortly following the Jones report, a new report surfaced that the Patriots would be signing former Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Alan Branch. Branch is a seven-year NFL veteran who was cut by the Buffalo Bills in August only one day after being charged with a DUI.
