Let’s assess the situation at linebacker. The starter is hurt. His back-up was knocked out of Sunday’s game making a tackle and didn’t return to the field. His back-up, a third round rookie, is already on injured reserve. As insurance, the Patriots bring back an oft-injured player they cut in the off-season because his declining productivity wasn’t worth the salary.
Welcome back, Rosevelt Colvin.
This was an unexpected move. When the Patriots and Colvin first parted ways I thought it was good-bye, not see you later. He was cut soon after Super Bowl XLII after finishing the season on injured reserve, the second time in five years with the Pats. In his absence, Adalius Thomas played better than Colvin after switching from ILB to OLB.
With that in mind, New England decided to move forward with Thomas and stock the depth chart with youth. Pierre Woods was already on the roster, Shawn Crable was drafted in the third round, and Vince Redd was added as a rookie free agent.
Colvin didn’t take the Patriots decision personally. He understands football is a business. And like many businessmen, he looked and found himself a new job with the Houston Texans.
But it wasn’t a good fit for Colvin and the Texans. Even though they paid good money for Colvin’s services, Houston decided they would be better off taking the loss and cutting Colvin before the season started.
Rosie took being unemployed again in stride. He still got the signing bonus from Houston and he had the freedom to choose his next opportunity.
Few would had thought that opportunity would be with the Patriots, but injuries have hit New England hard this year. Besides the growing losses in the secondary (CB Jason Webster was added to injured reserve Tuesday), Thomas likely broke his forearm and his return this season is in question. Crable was placed on injured reserve without ever playing a defensive down. And Woods injured his jaw in the loss to the Steelers, putting his playing status up in the air.
So in comes Colvin because the other alternatives are too green for the coaches’ liking. Redd was activated off the practice squad but is relegated to special teams. And Darrell Robertson, a recent addition to the practice squad, isn’t familiar enough with New England’s 3-4 defense after playing defensive end at Georgia Tech.
Considering the timing of Colvin’s signing, it easy to say the Pats didn’t have many options available. Colvin is 31 years old with recent injury history. But the truth is New England couldn’t had done better. Colvin has a full understanding of the defensive system and can come in and play immediately. While his productivity has slipped, Colvin does have a penchant for making timely plays. His strip sack of Peyton Manning to secure a win over the Colts last year first comes to mind.
At a time when the Patriots aren’t generating much of a pass rush, the addition of a proven rush linebacker is welcomed. And with four regular season games left, there’s a good chance Colvin will finish the season on the active roster.
If the Patriots get into the playoffs and Thomas returns from his injury, a rotation of Colvin, Thomas, and Mike Vrabel at OLB could give the pass rush a needed boost at the most important time.
