The Patriots have already wrapped up contract negotatiations with second-round draft pick Darius Butler. Now it’s time to take care of another one: Sebastian Vollmer.
The German offensive tackle — born in Dusseldorft — has only been
playing football since he was 14, and when he enrolled at the
University of Houston, he barely even spoke English. Just four short
years later, he’s ready to wrap up a contract with one of the NFL’s
elite families.
A source tells Boston.com’s Mike Reiss that “the terms of the deal have been pretty much agreed to,” indicating that a deal should be completed by Thursday.
The 6-foot-8, 315-pound lineman began his college career as a tight
end, eventually becoming a left tackle worthy of first-team Conference
USA honors. Since missing the 2006 campaign with a herniated disk, he
has started every game at left tackle for the past two seasons.
In 2008, the Cougars’ offense averaged 5.2 yards per carry,
accumulating over 2,000 yards. Houston’s offense ranked No. 1 in the
country with a whopping 575.1 yards per game; it was second in passing
with 414.1 yards per game and eighth in scoring with 41.2 points per
game.
The Patriots have used Vollmer as both a left and a right tackle thus far.
Vollmer will join an offensive line that features 11 out of 14
roster players entering the final year of their contracts, so it’s
likely that he’ll watch from the wings during 2009 and begin to earn
significant playing time in 2010.
