Patriots seal deal to keep longtime lineman Neal

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots have re-signed longtime starting offensive lineman Stephen Neal.

The team did not disclose terms of the deal, which was announced Tuesday.

The 6-foot-2, 305 pound Neal was drafted by the Patriots in 2001 out of Cal State-Bakersfield, where he was a championship wrestler and didn't play football.

The Patriots waived him, then re-signed him in December 2001. By 2004, he was starting at right guard.

In 2008, Neal started the final nine games on a Patriots team that set rushing records in yards, touchdowns and yards per carry.

Last season, he was part of a line that allowed 18 sacks, the team's fewest since the league switched to a 16-game schedule in 1978.