UPDATE (6 p.m. ET): The New England Patriots made their latest signing official Friday afternoon, announcing they’ve added free agent defensive end Frank Kearse.
ORIGINAL STORY: The New England Patriots finally signed a free agent, and the news came straight from the player. Well, kind of.
Defensive lineman Frank Kearse announced Friday on Instagram that he’s joining the Patriots. He later deleted the post, but put up a new photo on social media after New England made the news official.
Kearse, 27, played four games for the Washington Redskins last season, recording four tackles and one sack. He has 43 tackles and 5.5 sacks in five NFL seasons.
The 6-foot-5, 310-pound defensive lineman entered the NFL in 2011 as the Miami Dolphins’ seventh-round draft pick.
Kearse will compete for snaps with Patriots interior defensive linemen Alan Branch, Malcolm Brown, Dominique Easley, Chris Jones, Ishmaa’ily Kitchen and Joe Vellano. Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, who played with the Patriots in 2015, is an unrestricted free agent. Adding Kearse shouldn’t preclude the Patriots from re-signing Hicks.
Kearse is the second player joining the Patriots this week. They also added former New Orleans Saints linebacker Ramon Humber, who was cut last month, on Wednesday. The Patriots reportedly signed restricted free-agent wide receiver Chris Hogan to an offer sheet. The Buffalo Bills have five days to match the offer.
Thumbnail photo via Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports Images
