Patriots Sign Two Draft Picks, New Long-Snapper
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The New England Patriots continue to assemble their roster for the 2022 NFL season.
The team announced on Monday that they have signed 2022 sixth-round draft pick offensive lineman OL Chasen Hines and 2022 seventh-round draft pick Andrew Stueber.
Hines, the 6-3, 330 LSU product, was a four-year letter winner who appeared in 35 games with 17 starts. He started 16 games at right guard and one game at left guard. Hines originally came to LSU as a defensive lineman before moving to the offensive line. The 22-year old is expected to compete for a reserve role along New England’s offensive line in 2022.
Hines was selected 210th overall by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The 6-3, 330 LSU product was a four-year letter winner, who appeared in 35 games with 17 starts. He started 16 games at right guard and one game at left guard. Hines originally came to LSU as a defensive lineman before moving to the offensive line. The 22-year old is expected to compete for a reserve role along New England’s offensive line in 2022.
Stueber has the distinction of being the Patriots’ final choice in the 2022 NFL Draft. The 22-year-old was selected in the seventh round with the 245th overall selection out of Michigan. The 6-6, 325 former Wolverine appeared in 34 games with 22 starts. He started 20 games at right tackle and two at right guard. Much like Hines, Stueber projects as a potential reserve swing offensive lineman for the Pats in the upcoming season.
In addition to the pair of draftee signings, the Pats also signed rookie free-agent long-snapper Ross Reiter from Colorado State. The team also released rookie free agent cornerback Devin Hafford and quarterback D'Eriq King.
Reiter served as the long snapper on all punts and place kicks for four seasons at Colorado State. The 6-foot, 235-pounder earned second team All-American honors from Rubio Long Snapping. The Pats long snapping duties have been manned by Joe Cardona since 2015.
Hafford spent six seasons at Tarleton State, where he played in 56 games and finished with 243 total tackles, 12 interceptions, 57 passes defensed, one forced fumble and four fumble recoveries. 24-year-old played in 11 games in 2021 and finished with 50 total tackles, six interceptions, 13 passes defensed and two fumble recoveries.
King was widely projected to be a potentially multiple-positional threat for New England. The 24-year-old was limited to just three games in 2021 due to injury after a strong season in 2020 with Miami when he helped lead the team to an 8-2 record and was a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award. King began his career at Houston and played both quarterback and receiver during his four seasons there before transferring to Miami for the final two years of his career.
The Patriots have now parted ways with three undrafted rookie free agents, having released offensive lineman Liam Shanahan last Friday.
