With LeGarrette Blount banged up, the Patriots have added some insurance at running back by signing former Bronco Montee Ball to their practice squad, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Depending on Blount’s status, Ball could be a candidate for promotion this week or later in the season.
A Heisman finalist while at Wisconsin in 2011, Ball was selected by Denver in the 2013 draft, and was expected to be inserted as the starting running back in the Broncos’ high-powered offense. Over the course of two seasons though, Ball was never able to secure the No. 1 role in Denver’s backfield, losing the job to Knowshon Moreno in ’13 and C.J. Anderson in ’14. All told, Ball saw less than 200 carries during his time with the Broncos, and totaled less than 800 yards on the ground.
Since being cut by the Broncos in September, Ball has been out of work, though he had multiple tryouts, including one for the Pats. Most recently, the 25-year-old auditioned for the Packers earlier this month, and according to Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Green Bay was unimpressed with his physical conditioning.