The New England Patriots have made their seventh free-agent addition of this offseason, this time in the form of a former Pro Bowl front-seven defender.
New England announced Monday it has come to terms with former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith, who missed the entire 2013 season after suffering a serious knee injury in training camp last summer.
Smith provides the Patriots some much-needed depth at the position, given that both Patriots starters Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich had played 90 percent of the snaps last season.
Going on 33 years old, Smith isn't a lock past training camp, but if he can make the team, he'll at least fill a similar role to Andre Carter's last year.
The ex-Saint has amassed 67.5 career sacks, one Pro Bowl appearance and was a key member of the New Orleans’ 2009 Super Bowl team. During that campaign, he tallied a career-high 13 sacks. Since then, he hasn’t had more than 6.5 sacks in a single season.