The Patriots had some old friends back in Foxboro, Mass., on Monday.
Justin Francis and Jake Ballard, both of whom were cut at the end of the summer, worked out for New England, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. Francis was waived/injured, then signed an injury settlement to become a free agent. He suffered an ankle injury during the preseason.
Ballard signed with the Cardinals after his workout with the Patriots. The tight end was having trouble recovering from ACL surgery during the summer with New England.
Francis spent all of last season with the Patriots. He was active for 10 games and recorded three sacks.
The Patriots also brought in running back Cierre Wood, wide receiver Greg Orton and linebacker Marcus Dowtin for workouts. Wood was cut by the Texans for violating team rules two weeks ago. Orton has most recently spent time with the Broncos. He went undrafted out of Purdue in 2009. Dowtin went undrafted out of North Alabama in 2012. He was previously with the Bills.
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