The New England Patriots added two players from the University of Alabama in the 2021 NFL Draft, and they reportedly are bringing in another former Crimson Tide star for a free agent visit Thursday.
The Patriots are hosting veteran cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.
Kirkpatrick was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 17th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. He played eight seasons for the Bengals before joining the Arizona Cardinals for the 2020 campaign.
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The 31-year-old defensive back started 11 of the 14 games he played for the Cardinals, tallying three interceptions, seven passes defensed and 56 tackles.
The Patriots could use another outside cornerback like Kirkpatrick. New England currently has Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson and Jonathan Jones as the top three cornerbacks on its depth chart.
If the Patriots sign Kirkpatrick, he would be the sixth player on the roster who played at Alabama. Damien Harris, Dont'a Hightower, Anfernee Jennings and 2021 draft picks Mac Jones and Christian Barmore are the five ex-Alabama players on the roster as of this writing.