Pats sign third-round OL pick
The Patriots signed 2017 third-round draft pick Tony Garcia yesterday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Patriots gave up two picks to move up and select Garcia, an offensive lineman from Troy, with the 85th overall selection in April’s draft. The 6-foot7, 302-pound 23-year-old was a 2016 AllSun Belt first-team selection as a senior. He did not allow a single sack in over 900 offensive snaps as a senior.
Garcia could be the Pats’ left tackle of the future with current starter Nate Solder entering the final year of his contract.
The Patriots also signed undrafted free agent defensive back Will Likely and released free agent defensive lineman Corey Vereen. Likely, 22, played in 43 games at Maryland, finishing with 229 total tackles and seven interceptions.
Niners ink Dumervil
The San Francisco 49ers bolstered their pass rush by signing Elvis Dumervil. General manager John Lynch announced the move to bring in his former Denver teammate, saying the team “added another stud to harass QBs.”
The 33-year-old Dumervil has 99 career sacks in 10 seasons with the Broncos and Baltimore. He had a career-low three sacks last season for the Ravens when he was limited to eight games because of an Achilles injury. Dumervil was cut in March.
Dumervil recorded 17 sacks in both 2009 and ’14, more than every current member of the Niners other than linebacker Ahmad Brooks (531⁄ sacks). . . .
The Ravens signed veteran cornerbacks Brandon Boykin and Al-Hajj Shabazz and terminated the contract of former Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington because he failed a physical. Arrington, 30, suffered a concussion last August and spent the season on injured reserve.
Boykin, 26, has played four seasons with seven starts for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. He missed last season after tearing a pectoral muscle in training camp with Chicago.
Shabazz, 24, appeared in seven games with the Steelers and one with the Houston Texans in 2016. . . .
The New York Jets signed wide receiver Devin Street and placed wide receiver Quinton Patton on injured reserve. Street played in five games last season with Indianapolis, catching one pass for 20 yards. . . .
The Seahawks’ search for depth at quarterback led them to journeyman Austin Davis. Seattle released Jake Heaps to make room for Davis, who was signed after playing with the Rams, Browns and Broncos.
The 28-year-old Davis will be added to the backup competition with Trevone Boykin, last year’s No. 2 behind starter Russell Wilson.
Davis entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Southern Mississippi in 2012. Davis has appeared in 13 regular-season games, going 236-for-378 for 2,548 yards with 13 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. . . .
The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms with center Mark Spelman, the 2016 Rimington Award winner as the top FCS center in the nation. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Spelman won the Rimington in his senior season at Illinois State. He went undrafted this spring.
Newton recovering
Panthers coach Ron Rivera says quarterback Cam Newton is ahead of schedule in his rehab from shoulder surgery and is expected to begin throwing next week at minicamp.
Newton will start by throwing on a side field away from team drills. He isn’t expected to participate in team drills until the team reports to training camp in late July.
Newton has not thrown since undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff on his right shoulder in late March.
Newton injured his shoulder in Carolina’s Week 14 win against San Diego but continued to play the rest of the season.. . .
Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer returned to the team after taking some time away to tend his ailing right eye.
The team announced yesterday that Zimmer was back on the field to start another week of voluntary practices. Zimmer was ordered last month to skip some of the team’s offseason practices, return to his ranch in Kentucky and rest an eye that has needed eight surgeries to address a detached retina.
After two weeks away, Zimmer met with doctors before receiving clearance to be back at practice.
In Giant trouble
New York Giants backup receiver Roger Lewis Jr. was arrested for operating a vehicle under the influence over the weekend.
The 23-year-old Lewis made the Giants as a free agent out of Bowling Green, catching seven catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns. He was also with the players who accompanied Odell Beckham Jr. to Florida for a much-criticized outing on a boat on the team’s day off prior to a playoff game against Green Bay in January.