Patriots Sign Linebacker Brandon Spikes
BOSTON (CBS) - The New England Patriots are reuniting with an old friend.
The team officially announced the signing of linebacker Brandon Spikes on Monday afternoon. The deal is reportedly for one-year, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Field Yates.
Spikes, the Patriots' former second round draft pick (2010, 62nd overall) spent the 2014 season in Buffalo after playing the first four years of his NFL career in New England. Spikes first visited New England on May 6 in free agency.
Spikes, 27, is nothing more than a run-stuffing linebacker and is considered a liability in pass coverage. But with Jerod Mayo and Dont'a Hightower both on the mend and recovering from surgery, Spikes could prove to be a valuable Band-Aid.
His signing proves that some fences were mended, because his departure from the team was far from amicable.
Spikes labored through the entire 2013 regular season on a bummed knee before being placed on injured reserve just days before the team's playoff opener at Gillette Stadium. It was later reported that shutting down Spikes was mainly for disciplinary reasons after he missed a Friday bye week practice.
After that the writing on the wall was clear, and his comments to the NFL Network on the eve of free agency proved that even further, saying, "Both sides could benefit from a fresh start."
As soon as the clock struck 4pm and free agency commenced, Spikes tweeted a farewell/good riddance message to the fans, the region and the team. A month later he trash-talked the team on Twitter. His loyalty to former college teammate Aaron Hernandez remains puzzling as well.
But Spikes brings that special sort of nasty to a defense, and given his familiarity with the scheme and coaching staff, it shouldn't take long before he's back up to speed in Foxboro.
