A New England Patriots helmet during the game between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on December 24, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
98.5 The Sports Hub staff report
Two days after their season-ending loss to the Tennessee Titans, the New England Patriots took their first steps towards building next season's roster and announced the signing of seven players to future contracts.
All seven players aren't exactly foreign to the Patriots, of course, as they finished the season on New England's practice squad.
On the offensive side of the ball, the deals came for wide receivers Quincy Adeboyejo and Devin Ross, and offensive lineman Najee Toran.
The 6-foot-3 Adeboyejo has appeared in one NFL game in his career (a 2017 contest with the Ravens), and totaled three catches on eight targets for 31 yards in three preseason games with Baltimore in 2017. Ross, meanwhile, had been on the Patriots' practice squad since Oct. 15, and spent time with the Eagles and Titans practice squads/preseason roster before joining the Patriots. A 5-foot-9 wideout, Ross totaled 1,643 yards on 143 catches during a four-year collegiate career at Colorado University from 2013 through 2017.
And on defense, the team signed linebacker Terez Hall, defensive backs Obi Melifonwu and Adarius Pickett, and defensive lineman Nick Thurman to future deals.
Signed as an undrafted free agent, Hall totaled 13 tackles (including one for a seven-yard loss) during his four-game preseason run, and spent the entire 2019 season on New England's practice squad. Pickett had 16 tackles and a pick in four preseason games with the Chargers and was signed to the practice squad on Dec. 11, and the 6-foot-4 Thurman totaled six tackles in his two preseason appearances with the Patriots last summer.
Melifonwu, of course, is the familiar name, as a 2017 second-round pick who has appeared in multiple NFL games for both the Raiders and Patriots since breaking into the NFL. (Melifonwu was also the casualty off the 53-man roster when the Patriots officially signed Antonio Brown early in the 2019 season.)
With the future contracts taken care of, the Patriots can begin preparing for the 2020 NFL Draft, as well as an absolutely loaded 2020 free agent class including Tom Brady, Devin McCourty, Kyle Van Noy, and several others.
