The Patriots have re-signed a running back that should provide them with some decent training camp depth. From the Patriots' press release:
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots announced today the signing of RB Chris Taylor. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Taylor, 6-0, 224 pounds, was originally signed by New England on Aug. 17, 2009 but spent the season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.
Taylor entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Houston Texans out of Indiana in 2006. He has seen action in seven NFL games and has accumulated 160 rushing yards with one touchdown and caught three passes for 40 yards. Taylor spent most of his rookie year on the Houston practice squad before joining the 53-man roster in December and seeing action in four games. He had a breakout game in the 2006 season-finale against Cleveland when he gained 99 yards on 20 rushing attempts, including a five-yard touchdown run. Taylor missed all of the 2007 season with a knee injury. He returned to action in 2008 and played in the first six games of the 2008 season before suffering an injury that forced him to the injured reserve list.
After the season, the Patriots chose not to tender Taylor a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent, thus, making him unrestricted. The Patriots probably felt that Taylor had recovered sufficiently from his injury, and decided to bring him back.
While the Patriots could still add another face to the running back group, things will probably stay the whey they are right now at least until late June/early July. While Taylor is likely a long shot to make the roster, he should help keep the veterans' legs fresh during the preseason.
Chris Taylor joins a group of running backs that includes Laurence Maroney, Fred Taylor, Kevin Faulk, Sammy Morris, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and Pat Paschall. With the addition of Taylor, the Patriots roster bumps up to 89 players including the unsigned rookies. That means, that before training camp, the Patriots must let go of nine players.