National Football League

Patriots sign DT Warren

Published Apr. 25, 2010 12:37 a.m. ET

foxsports

The New England Patriots signed former Oakland Raiders tackle Gerard Warren on Saturday as they continued to restock their defensive line.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick announced the move after the NFL draft.

New England, which lost defensive end Jarvis Green as a free agent to Denver, had signed defensive tackle Damione Lewis on April 10 after he was released by Carolina.

Warren, the third overall pick in the 2001 draft, spent four seasons with Cleveland, two with Denver and three with Oakland, which released him on March 11.

"We've talked with him off and on, and we just were able to work that out,'' Belichick said. "He's been a very productive player through the course of his career, especially in recent years.''

Warren started all 32 games he played in the past two seasons with 57 tackles and six sacks. In his 135 career games, 127 of them starts, he has 229 tackles and 32 sacks. He's reached the playoff just once in nine seasons.

Cleveland drafted Warren three picks before New England took Richard Seymour in 2001. The Patriots traded Seymour to the Raiders before last season. Lewis was taken by St. Louis with the 12th pick in that draft.