Anthony Johnson pushing for roster spot in NE

From ESPN Boston

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The Patriots, in a move that hardly generated headlines at the time, signed him to a one-year deal on May 9.

Bill Belichick recalled his first impressions upon having Johnson in for a workout, because Johnson’s physical appearance was notably different.

"Honestly, I didn’t even recognize him when we brought him in for a workout. I looked at him and said, 'Do we have the right guy here?'" he said.

"He’s kind of gone in the other direction from being a big guy and really trimming down and his skills are different. He’s faster, he’s quicker, he’s obviously lighter, doesn’t have as much power but he was an interesting guy. He was a good player coming out of college, an interesting workout, and a guy that’s a lot different than most of our other interior defensive lineman, so we thought in signing him that his skills might complement some of the other players that we have, so we’ll just see how that plays out."

Johnson said he is now at 280 pounds, which he feels is the perfect weight. The Patriots' other defensive tackles -- a group led by 2015 first-round pick Malcom Brown -- are all in the 300-pound category, so Johnson could be a nice complement.

"My game is vertical, up the field, just trying to disrupt stuff in the backfield," he said.

That much was clear on Thursday night.