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FOXBOROUGH, Mass (AP) — Vinny Testaverde, who came out of retirement last season to help out the New York Jets, was signed on Tuesday by New England.
The 43-year-old quarterback, the first overall pick by Tampa Bay in the 1987 draft, has played 19 NFL seasons and has 269 touchdown passes, eighth in NFL history, and is sixth with 45,252 yards passing. He becomes the third quarterback on the Patriots roster, behind Tom Brady and second-year man Matt Cassel. The Patriots will be his sixth team. In addition to the Bucs, he has played for Cleveland, Baltimore, the Jets and Dallas. He retired after playing with the Cowboys in 2004, but last season rejoined the Jets, for whom he played from 1998-2003, after starter Chad Pennington and backup Jay Fiedler were injured in the same game. Testaverde, who started four games for the Jets last season, became the first player in NFL history to throw at least one touchdown pass in 19 straight seasons. He completed 60 of 106 passes for 777 yards with one touchdown and six interceptions. He was subsequently replaced by Brooks Bollinger, who had started the season as the team's third stringer. Meanhile, the Patriots began installing a synthetic field surface Tuesday to be used in time for their next home game Nov. 26 against Chicago. Heavy equipment scraped the grass and leveled the dirt beneath it in preparation for the installation of FieldTurf, which has become increasingly popular around the NFL. Gillette Stadium has had natural grass since it opened in 2002. It's the second time in less than three weeks that the field has been worked on following complaints from Patriots players and opponents about the lack of grass and surplus of sand up the middle of the field for the first three home games. The middle third of the field was resodded from goal line to goal line in time for the game against Indianapolis on Nov. 5. The Patriots played at Gillette Stadium again a week later against the New York Jets. New England lost both games. Heavy rains before last Sunday's game with the Jets and occasional drizzle during it left much of the center strip of the field muddy. Before that strip was replaced last month, Patriots spokesman Stacey James said, "We're committed to improve the field and considering all options short and long term." FieldTurf is a synthetic substance with long green fibers. It has sand for stability and small rubber chips for softness added to it. The Kraft family, owner of the Patriots and Gillette Stadium, opened the field as a multipurpose venue. The New England Revolution of MLS play their home games there. It also has been the site this summer of concerts by Kenny Chesney, Bon Jovi and the Rolling Stones. The Patriots have natural grass on their two practice fields and FieldTurf on their indoor practice field, all adjacent to Gillette Stadium.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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