FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Former New England Patriots punter Mike Patrick has died. He was 55.
Patrick died Sunday in his hometown of Biloxi, Miss., the team said. No cause was given.
Patrick spent his four-season professional career with the Patriots from 1975-78. Patrick ranks fifth on the Patriots' all-time punters list with 8,481 yards on 225 attempts in 43 career games.
He was signed as a rookie free agent in 1975. In his first NFL game that season, he had a 62-yard punt against Houston, the Patriots' longest since 1968.
A funeral service is Wednesday in Biloxi.
RAIDERS RELEASE RHODES: The Oakland Raiders released running back Dominic Rhodes on Monday, two days after using their top draft pick to take big-play back Darren McFadden.
Oakland had a glut at running back after the draft and began addressing it almost immediately by announcing the team cut ties with Rhodes.
HOT, HOT, HOT: Although Southern California players were the top commodity at the draft, smaller schools like Appalachian State had a couple players taken too. The Mountaineers had two players picked, as did Richmond, Northern Iowa and Montana among the small schools.
The Mountaineers, who had receiver Dexter Jackson and defensive back Corey Lynch taken, won the national championship and upset Michigan this season, while Richmond (receiver Arman Shields, running back Tim Hightower) was a national semifinalist.
Northern Iowa had two offensive linemen taken, guard Brandon Keith and Chad Rinehart, while Montana had defensive end Kroy Biermann and running back Lex Hilliard selected.
Cleveland grabbed linebacker Alex Hall of St. Augustine's, a Division II school in North Carolina, while the Panthers took guard Mackenzy Bernadeau from Division II's Bentley.