FOXBORO, Mass. — Many in New England are familiar with Jets right tackle Damien Woody, who was the Patriots' first-round pick in 1999 and played five seasons with the Pats.
But Woody's season ended after suffering an Achilles injury Saturday against the Colts, leaving many in New England scrambling to find out the answer to one question: Who in the world is Wayne Hunter?
Hunter replaced Woody for the Jets' game-winning drive in Indy, and he started the last three games of the regular season while Woody recovered from a knee injury. The Seahawks selected Hunter in the third round of the 2003 draft, and he spent three years in Seattle and one in Jacksonville before hooking on with the Jets in 2007.
The 6-foot-5, 318-pounder has started five career games, with four of them coming in 2010. A couple of Patriots weighed in on Hunter's credentials.
"Hunter is a big, athletic guy," Pats linebacker Rob Ninkovich said. "He's in his eighth year. He's from Hawaii. He's been around the league, so he's got some experience. He would come in there as a heavy tight end before Woody was injured, and he's had some playing time in the last few weeks. He's played because of Woody's injury. He's a good player, so we're going to have to prepare for him. He's a good player, a good backup. I think he could easily have been a starter for them if Woody wasn’t there. I think he's a good player."
"He's a different player [than Woody]," Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo said. "He's more athletic. He's similar to [Jets left tackle D'Brickashaw] Ferguson, an athletic guy, a long guy. It's not too big of a fall-off. He's a good player."
