[Editor's Note: For the month of April leading up to the draft, Bud Light will be sponsoring the NFL blogs here at SB Nation. Each day, we'll count down the top 10 Bill Belichick era Patriots "busts" and "booms" in the NFL draft." -Greg
Belichick-Era Patriots Top 10 Busts #3
Name: Shawn Crable
College: Michigan
Drafted: 3rd round, 78th overall, 2008
Position: Outside Linebacker
Years with Team: 3 Where is he now? Unrestricted free agent after spending end of 2010 on Jets' practice squad Comments: When Shawn Crable was drafted by the Patriots in the third round of 2008, it marked the highest the team had ever selected an outside linebacker under head coach Bill Belichick. Not only did his last name rhyme with "Vrabel," Crable brought linebacker experience, pass rush skill, and tremendous measureables to the Patriots. As sky-high as his expectations were, they only increased when he exploded in the 2008 preseason. Unfortunately, that would be about the biggest impact the team would get from Crable. After spending the first few weeks of his rookie season before landing on injured reserve with a shin injury. He was expected to contribute to an outside linebacker position that had undergone a lot of turnover in the 2009 offseason, but once again failed to get healthy and was regulated to the injured reserve for a second straight season. Although people tried to temper their expectations heading into year three, when he showed up to offseason workouts looking as impressive as ever, a lot of fans really hoped 2010 would be the year he finally made an impact. Unfortunately for Crable, he suffered another injury and was released at the start of training camp. Then, there was another unexpected turn. Crable got himself healthy and returned to the Patriots practice squad for the start of the season. He was eventually promoted to the 53 man roster, and ended up playing in six games as a pass rusher in sub-packages, recording four tackles and a half-sack. That would be Crable's only contributions to the team, however, as he was released in November, ending his career of unfulfilled potential with the Patriots.
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