Patriots sign TE Mills; release S Lockett, OL Roth

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The Patriots announced that they signed tight end Garrett Mills on Sunday. Terms of the contract were not announced.

In addition, the Patriots released safety Bret Lockett and rookie free agent offensive lineman Zach Roth.

For Mills, this is a homecoming of sorts. He originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick of the Patriots in the 2006 out of Tulsa and spent the majority of his rookie season with New England on the injured reserve list.

Mills has since spent time with the Vikings (2007-09), Eagles (2010) and Bengals (2010).

The 6-foot-1, 235-pound tight end played in seven games with three starts last season with Philadelphia and registered two receptions for 19 yards. He was released by the Eagles on Dec. 21 and claimed off waivers by Cincinnati, where he finished the season. He was waived by Cincinnati last week.

Lockett was carted off the field on Thursday in Tampa Bay with a thigh injury. It was reported by NESN.com that he injured a groinabdominal muscle and was likely done for the season.

Roth was a rookie free agent from Texas Christian University who signed with the Patriots just over a week ago.

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