Patriots bolster offensive line depth by signing free agents Alex Redmond, James Ferentz

With the second phase of the voluntary offseason workout program getting kicked off on Monday, the New England Patriots have decided to bolster the depth along their interior offensive line. The Patriots have signed free agent linemen Alex Redmond and James Ferentz to their 90-man offseason roster.

The two veterans will offer depth behind a starting lineup consisting of guards Michael Onwenu and Shaq Mason as well as center David Andrews. The Patriots also have top backup Ted Karras in the fold as well as depth options Najee Toran, Marcus Martin and, potentially, rookie William Sherman.

G Alex Redmond: Signed to active roster

Redmond, 26, originally entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and spent the first five seasons of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals. The UCLA product appeared in 32 total games as a Bengal, including 24 starts at the right guard position.

Coming off an eventful season that saw him get suspended for a performance-enhancing drug violation and later suffer a torn biceps, Redmond re-joined Cincinnati last April. He was released on roster cutdown day after spending training camp on the non-football injury list and later returned via the practice squad. He was eventually promoted to the active roster again and appeared in nine games with seven starts.

During his time on the field Redmond was charted with three sacks given up. He ended the 2020 season having played 41 percent of Cincinnati’s offensive snaps.

Last week, the Patriots had Redmond in town for a free agency workout.

C James Ferentz: Signed to active roster

Ferentz, 26, brings some previous experience with the Patriots to the table. The former Iowa product, who joined the league as a rookie free agent in 2014, spent most of the last four seasons in New England.

Last season, he saw action in seven games including a pair of starts. In total, he was on the field for 161 of a possible 1,011 offensive snaps (15.9%) and gave up two quarterback pressures. That said, not all was positive: he was among the 11 Patriots to be placed on the NFL’s new Reserve/Covid-19 list after testing positive in mid-October.

Ferentz spent 12 days on the reserve list before returning later that same month. He did play six of his seven games in 2020 after his stint on the Coronavirus list, though. As was the case during his previous three years with the club, he was mainly used as experienced depth and played the role of a “break glass in case of emergency”-type player.

The veteran lineman entered unrestricted free agency in March, but has remained unaccounted for since then.