Ted Larsen, a Patriots sixth-round draft pick in 2010, saved three teenagers Wednesday in the Gulf of Mexico.
Larsen and his girlfriend were fishing on his 24-foot boat when he heard the Coast Guard issue a distress signal, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Larsen was close by and boated to Honeymoon Island, where two teens were clutching an overturned kayak and a third teen was in another kayak. Larsen pulled them from the water and got them onto dry land.
"It could have been a big deal. You always read about overturned kayaks," Larsen told the Times. "It was good to help them. It just felt it was a good thing to do."
The Patriots drafted Larsen with their sixth-round compensatory pick last year, and he worked out at guard and center during training camp. They might have had room for him on the roster if they had immediately placed Nick Kaczur on injured reserve, but the Patriots released Larsen at the end of camp, hoping he would clear waivers and sign on the practice squad.
However, the Buccaneers claimed Larsen, and he started 11 games at guard in 2010.
