FOXBORO, Mass. — Vince Wilfork won’t be contributing on the field for the rest of the season, but that doesn’t mean the defensive captain can’t still help the Patriots.
Wilfork has played a big role in helping New England’s latest addition, defensive tackle Andre Neblett, adapt to the team.
“He was here, in a couple of meetings, sitting in there giving us advice,” Neblett said. “I see we have a lot of young guys on the D-line and it was great for him to come in and help us.
“He said things change around here quick, so stay on top of your game and it will help you stay around. Just come in and work and stay in the playbook.”
Neblett went undrafted out of Temple in 2010. He spent the first three years of his career in Carolina before signing with the Buccaneers this spring. The 6-foot, 310-pounder was cut by Tampa Bay on Aug. 31.
“He’s got some experience,” Bill Belichick said. “He played at Carolina, Tampa. He was here preseason, [we] played against him and it was good, good playing strength. He’s played a decent number of plays over the past three years, a couple hundred plays a year type of thing, so he’s got some experience.”
Belichick said Neblett was played nose tackle and three-technique defensive tackle. The Patriots are missing their starting nose and three-tech, Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly, respectively.
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