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Today's transactions

The Patriots have just announced several moves, which get them down to the NFL-mandatory roster limit of 75:

WR Troy Brown, WR Chad Jackson and CB Eddie Jackson have all been placed on the reserve/PUP list, meaning that the three players, who have been on the physically-unable-to-perform list since training camp began, will remain on the PUP list through at least the first six weeks of the regular season or week nine at the latest; during that time, they can elect to open a 21-day window, allowing the player to practice. At the end of the three weeks, the player must be moved to the 53-man active roster or placed on season-ending injured reserve.

Rookie DB Mike Richardson has been placed on injured reserve, as a hand injury is ending his season. Richardson, who played nickelback with the first-team defense last Friday night against the Panthers, was seen in the locker room afterwards with his left arm in a sling.

Also, the team officially announced the signing of Asante Samuel and the release of rookie offensive lineman Chris Patrick, who was claimed off waivers last week. They have received a roster exemption for Samuel, allowing them to currently carry 76 players.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Bridget Moynahan reveals name of baby son

BOSTON (AP) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's newborn son is a JET.

A publicist for actress Bridget Moynahan on Tuesday announced the name of the son she had with her ex-boyfriend - John Edward Thomas Moynahan - and revealed Brady did make it in time to Los Angeles to be with her for the child's arrival.

"Bridget is very thankful for a happy baby, excited about being a mother, and very pleased that the father, Tom Brady, was able to be there for the birth," publicist Gary Mantoosh said.

Mantoosh refused to release any other details, including the size of the baby or whether the Thomas in his name was in honor of his father.

"Both mother and baby are at home, happy and healthy," he said.

Brady flew to California last Wednesday for the birth and returned to his team a couple days later for a preseason game.

Moynahan and Brady split up late last year after a three-year relationship. Brady has been dating supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

Moynahan, 36, is a former model who has starred in such films as "Coyote Ugly," "I, Robot" and "The Sum of All Fears." Her television credits include "Sex and the City" and the ABC series "Six Degrees." She grew up in Longmeadow, Mass.

Brady, 30, has led the Patriots to three NFL titles and is a two-time Super Bowl MVP. New England opens its regular season against the rival New York Jets on Sept. 8.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Photo: Asante smiles for the camera

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Asante Samuel, who formally signed with the Pats today, is circled by members of the media this morning in the locker room at Gillette Stadium.

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments 1

Practice peek

Hey all --

We are just in from the lower practice field, where New England is holding its daily session, and there was no number 22 to be spotted. When Bill Belichick was asked this morning whether Asante Samuel had taken his mandatory conditioning run yet, Belichick simply said that the corner is going through the same series of events every player goes through when he starts training camp.

Other players not spotted today on the field:

Rodney Harrison
Eugene Wilson
Mike Richardson
Randy Moss
Mike Wright
Rashad Baker
Kareem Brown
Russ Hochstein

Tom Brady received a rubdown of his right forearm while stretching; in the locker room, our eagle-eyed photographer, Bob Breidenbach, spotted Brady with a blue compression sleeve-type thing on the same arm.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Morning wrap: Asante chats

Hey all --

Asante Samuel was in good spirits today as he addressed a massive media throng in front of his locker.

Though on the surface it appears that Samuel got no more and no less than what he had coming to him -- the one-year guaranteed franchise tender, and no promise that he won't be franchised again next year -- he claimed that both sides are happy with how things went down.

"I'm good. I'm ready to play football," he said, adding that he actually missed two-a-days. "I really did miss it. I missed joking with the guys on the field, things like that."

Samuel realizes that he'll likely have to earn back his spot as a starter, and knows that he has work to do given that his teammates have been on the field for a month getting ready for the season.

He also wondered who "ratted" him out about his arrival to the area on Sunday night, and yours truly 'fessed up to that afterwards, but he wasn't mad about it.

Elsewhere in the locker room, Kyle Brady was his entertaining, thoughtful self, and spoke about teammate Randy Moss, who he said is pretty funny.

"He has a great sense of humor; he calls guys out in the locker room, he has a great locker room personality. He likes to clown around. He's a good guy to have around," he said.

We had an interesting chat with longshot receiver Chris Dunlap, who we noticed was swarmed by autograph seekers last night at the Kickoff Gala. The reason? Much as we suspected, most of the fans thought Dunlap was Laurence Maroney. When Dunlap had a picture of Maroney thrust into his hands and had to admit that he wasn't Maroney, some fans didn't believe him. While they do look similar, it's a lesson: know your players before you get signatures.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel official; Patrick cut

Stacey James has just announced that Asante Samuel did sign his franchise tender and is officially back with the Patriots.

Also, offensive lineman Chris Patrick has been cut. Patrick was signed last week.

Five more cuts must be made by 4 pm today.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments 0

Samuel signs tender

Hey all --

It's been confirmed that Asante Samuel has signed his one-year franchise tender, though it is not believed that the Patriots agreed not to franchise the cornerback in 2008, which was the reason Samuel didn't sign the deal yesterday when he arrived at Gillette Stadium.

Samuel's representatives made one last effort to get the team not to franchise Samuel again -- something the Bears agreed to with linebacker Lance Briggs, as long as Briggs plays in more than 75 percent of Chicago's defensive snaps this year -- but it seemed unlikely from the beginning that New England would surrender one of the weapons it has at its disposal.

Bill Belichick is set to have his press conference at 10:45 a.m. and then the open locker room session is after that.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments 0