FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The lighthouse is no longer the most visible object at Gillette Stadium. That honor now belongs to defensive tackle Terdell Sands.
The New England Patriots signed Sands on Monday as insurance for Vince Wilfork, who injured his left ankle against the Atlanta Falcons and has not participated in practice this week. Sands, a castle in the Patriots’ locker room, is listed at 6-foot-7 and 335 pounds, though the naked eye suggests he surpasses both of those measurements.
“Guys always want to know how tall I am and stuff like that,” Sands said. “I got me a shirt with ‘520’ on it and say, ‘That’s my height, so you don’t have to ask me about it. Do your math.’”
Sands, who stands at 5-foot-20 — or 6-foot-8 in a more traditional sense — is a towering figure whose shadow could cause the next ice age, and his size should be a real asset for Bill Belichick’s 3-4 defensive system, which relies heavily (pun intended) on a nose tackle who can plug up two gaps. That’s why Wilfork and Ted Washington have had so much success in New England.
The Kansas City Chiefs selected Sands out of Tennessee-Chattanooga with their seventh-round pick in 2001. He missed his rookie season with an injury and then spent 2002 on the practice squads of the Chiefs and Green Bay Packers. Sands was signed to the Oakland Raiders’ active roster in 2003, and he remained in Oakland through the 2009 training camp. In 76 games with the Raiders, Sands started 12 times and amassed 95 total tackles, four sacks, two fumble recoveries and one interception. After getting released by the Raiders, Sands returned home to Chattanooga until he was called by the Patriots last week.
Sands said he was average size until he had a growth spurt during his sophomore or junior year of high school. Since then, he said, “If I bend three inches, I’m still taller than the next guy.”
Pressing on
It’s been a chaotic couple of weeks for Patriots linebacker Prescott Burgess. New England acquired him for a conditional seventh-round draft pick from Baltimore last week, and the trade went down less than a day after the Ravens returned home from their game in San Diego.
Then, the Patriots cut Burgess on Monday to sign Sands. Burgess said he nearly returned to Baltimore, but things didn’t work out, and he signed a practice-squad contract with the Patriots on Wednesday. Now that Burgess has found a spurt of stability, he is ready to help out the New England coaching staff in their preparation for Sunday’s game against Baltimore.
“Of course I’m going to be valuable,” Burgess said. “I had been with the Ravens for two and a half years, so just go out there and show them the best look I can give them. Hopefully, they can get a great look from me and continue to take that into the game.”
Raising awareness
This is Breast Cancer Awareness Week in the NFL, and about a half dozen members of the Patriots will be wearing pink during Sunday’s game to honor those who have been affected by breast cancer. As of Wednesday morning, it had not been determined which players would be wearing pink equipment and apparel, so it’s something to keep an eye on during their game against the Ravens. In addition, the league is sending each team a set number of pink cleats for the players to wear during their Week 4 game.
New champion
Patriots practice squad defensive lineman Titus Adams wrestled the championship belt away from safety Brandon McGowan this week after McGowan had it for the first two weeks of the regular season. The belt symbolizes the team’s practice player of the week, which means Adams was recognized for his work in the days leading up to the Patriots’ victory against the Atlanta Falcons.
