The two-year agreement, which will pay Langham the league minimum base salary of $440,000 in both 2000 and 2001, was confirmed for SportsLine.com by agent Pat Dye Jr. and two Patriots sources. There is also an incentive package that will reward Langham handsomely if he earns the starting job for the cornerback-thin Patriots.

New England lost incumbent right cornerback Steve Israel to the New Orleans Saints last week in free agency and will for the third straight season give 1998 first-rounder Tebucky Jones a shot at the starting spot. But Langham, 27, will have a chance to resurrect his career under coach Bill Belichick, who was the head coach in Cleveland when the former Alabama star was the Browns' first-round choice in 1996.

Langham played his first four seasons for the Browns and Baltimore Ravens, then signed with the San Francisco 49ers in the spring of 1998 as one of that year's most highly celebrated free-agent pickups. But by midseason, Langham had inexplicably lost his confidence and, not surprisingly, his starting job as well.

He moved on to the new Cleveland Browns franchise in 1999 when team took him from the 49ers in the expansion draft. But Langham faltered in his second stint in Cleveland and, after he started the first two games, was used primarily after that as a nickel or dime cornerback. Langham was released by the Browns after the season ended.

In six seasons, Langham has appeared in 87 games, with 69 starts. He was a full-time starter in each of his first four campaigns. He has 305 tackles, one sack, 13 interceptions and 76 passes defensed. Last year marked his first season without at least one interception.