Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Patriots sign 2 WRs; FB Develin praised

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots made a few back-end roster moves on Sunday, signing receivers Cole Stanford (Cal Poly) and Brian Tyms (Florida A&M).

To make room for Stanford and Tyms, the Patriots will waive receiver Greg Orton, who will revert to injured reserve after being carted off on Friday.

Both Stanford and Tyms are long shots to earn a roster spot, but they add important depth to fill out the roster during training camp and preseason games. Stanford is an undrafted free agent, while Tyms, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2012, played in seven games last season with the Cleveland Browns.

That puts the Patriots roster at the full 90-player limit.

Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio announced the moves at a Sunday morning news conference. Caserio called fan support “incredible” at training camp (32,653 total attendance through three days), and here were a few other takeaways from his news conference:

Setting the schedule: Caserio pointed out that players will be off Monday. Practices are scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, starting at 9:15 a.m. ET each day.

‘Great offseason’ for Develin: Caserio lauded the work of second-year fullback James Develin. “The unique thing about James, he’s a very versatile player, and we saw that even going back to last season -- he’s able to line up in the backfield, at tight end, detached from the formation,” Caserio said. “James is very smart, works very, very hard. He had a great offseason. As a player, from Day 1 that he entered the program to where he is now, he’s really improved. He’s put in a lot of time. It’s a credit to him. He’s smart and versatile, so he gives you a little bit of flexibility because he can do a number of different things -- he can block with force in the running game, he can put his hand down on the line of scrimmage and block with force on the line of scrimmage. He’s earned all his opportunities with his performance and his work ethc.”

What drew team to Stork: Caserio touched on what the Patriots liked in Florida State center Bryan Stork, their fourth-round draft pick who is expected to challenge for the starting job. Durability, performance level against top competition, smarts and toughness were mentioned. “He has good playing strength, a good playing style, a good demeanor,” Caserio said, later adding that Stork fits the profile of what the Patriots look for in a lineman, mentioning past blockers like Joe Andruzzi and Russ Hochstein.

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