The Patriots have signed linebacker Tony Steward and long snapper Christian Yount. Terms of the contracts were not announced.
Steward, 23, a sixth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills last year out of Clemson. He played in seven games as a rookie before finishing the season on injured reserve. Steward was released by Buffalo on Tuesday.
Yount, 27, is a veteran of four NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2011) and the Cleveland Browns (2011-2014). He was released by Cleveland last May and did not play last season. The 6-foot-1, 250-pounder, originally entered the NFL with Tampa Bay as a rookie free agent out of UCLA on July 27, 2011. He made the 53-man roster out of training camp and played in seven games before being released. Yount then signed with Cleveland, where he remained through the 2014 season. He has played in 60 NFL games.