Patriots Sign Tommy Kelly to a Two Year Deal

Ian Rapoport reports that the Patriots have signed 32 year old Tommy Kelly, formerly of the Raiders, to a two year deal.

While no numbers have been reported, the deal must have been well below the seven-year, $50.5 million contract he signed with the Raiders in 2008. It's probably much closer to veteran minimum with incentives. At 6'6" 325 lbs, Kelly projects as a 4-3 DT or 3-4 DE/NT (where he played in 2004) for the Patriots. His positional flexibility could be helpful in case of injuries.

Kelly was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Raiders and played with them for 9 years, amassing 420 tackles (290 solo), 34 sacks, 15 passes defended, 1 Interception, and 9 forced fumbles in 129 games. Interestingly, 7 of the passes defended, the one interception, and 8.5 of the sacks are from his last two years.

Worst case he's a camp body or Albert Haynesworthless 2.0. Best case is he combines with Vince Wilfork to give O-coordinators fits. Realistically, he is experienced rotational depth at many positions along the D-Line.