FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed veteran defensive backs Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden today. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
Shawn Springs, 33, is a veteran of 12 NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks (1997-2003) and Washington Redskins (2004-08). The 6-foot, 204-pound cornerback has played in 157 career games with 147 starts and has made 662 tackles (568 solo), 8.5 sacks, 32 interceptions for 421 yards and two touchdowns, 137 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries for 85 yards and a touchdown. Springs is one of 17 active players with 30 or more career interceptions and has recorded at least one interception in each of his 12 NFL seasons. Springs was named to the Pro Bowl following the 1998 season. He is the only defensive back in NFL history to lead his team in sacks and interceptions in the same season, achieving the feat with the Redskins in 2004. Last season, he played in nine games with seven starts for the Redskins and had 36 tackles (33 solo), one sack, one interception and eight passes defensed.
The Ohio State product was originally selected by the Seahawks in the first round (third overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft and played in 93 games with 88 starts over seven seasons in Seattle (1997-2003). After starting 10 games as a rookie in 1997, he had a breakout year in 1998 when he started every game and recorded a career-high seven interceptions. He scored three touchdowns in 1998, including two interception returns for touchdowns and a fumble return for a touchdown. He started every game again in 1999 and led the Seahawks with five interceptions. In 2000, he started every game for the third straight season and had a career-high 85 tackles along with a pair of interceptions.
Springs was signed by the Redskins as an unrestricted free agent on March 4, 2004 and played in 64 games with 52 starts over five seasons in Washington (2004-08). In his debut season with the Redskins, Springs led the team in...