Williams, a huge Offensive Tackle who had spent his entire career playing for the Chicago Bears.
He is a mountain of a man, 6'7" 330lbs as listed in his player bio. Big Cat had been out of football in 2003 after being released in a cost cutting move by the Chicago Bears after the 2002 season.
The Patriots invited Big Cat for a visit during the 2003 season, but did not
offer him a job out of concerns from his injury recovery. They decided to go
with what they had at that time, and kept an eye on Big Cat's progress as he
worked on getting back to football shape.
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For more on James Williams (Big Cat), visit our friends over at Bearshistory.com.
Big Cat could have made a HUGE impact on the team had things worked out
on the Patriots. |
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The rest of today's newswire is filled with articles on newly signed DT Dana Stubblefield. Stubblefield is described by some as worth the chance the Patriots
are taking on him if he can overcome the injuries that sidelined him most of
last season with the Oakand Raiders.
Stubblefield chose the Patriots over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants
and the Jacksonville Jaguars. In yesterdays' Providence Journal Online, staff
writer PAUL KENYON makes this point:
Stubblefield
said one of the main reasons he signed with New England was that other players
told him Belichick would treat him fairly.
"I'm
a good friend of Anthony Pleasant, Chris Slade, [Willie] McGinest. I played
with Don Davis. They know this guy, know him very well. I know these guys
will tell me the truth," Stubblefield said. They told Stubblefield
he would like playing for Belichick, one reason he chose the Pats over Tampa,
the Giants and Jacksonville.
"[Belichick's]
a man of his word," Stubblefield said. "I was hearing it
from players who played under him in the past and some players who are playing
for him now."
This take is in sharp contrast where Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy have said Belichick
can't be trusted, or in Law's case, called him an outright liar.
Milloy's recent comments on the Kellen Winslow Jr negotiaions with the Cleveland Browns, indicate that the player still harbors animosity toward the organization
he played for until last season. In today's Cleveland Plain Dealer, Mary Kay
Cabot writes this on Milloy:
Buffalo Bills four-time Pro Bowl safety Lawyer Milloy, who is represented by Kevin
and Carl Poston, said his advice to Winslow Jr. would be to trust his agents
during these tough negotiations.
"You
saw what happened to me last year when an organization [the New England Patriots]
let me go after years of being loyal to them," he said. "As a player,
you have only so many opportunities to have leverage and right after the draft
is one of them. He needs to max out."
Additional takes on the newswire:
- The possibilty of Rosevelt Colvin coming back from injury in the near future
- Dolphins David Boston suffering a season ending injury
- Steven Neal offensive line prospect looks to make the team
- Dan Koppen with some comments
- And former Patriots great Russ Francis stopped by training camp to say hi.