Staff changes Unlike previous offseasons, head coach Bill Belichick’s 2007 coaching staff remained generally unchanged. Wide receivers coach Brian Daboll left to become the quarterbacks coach for the New York Jets and was replaced by Director of Pro Personnel Nick Caserio. Former Duke University offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien was also hired as an offensive assistant. A former special teams contributor for the Patriots, linebacker Don Davis retired and joined the coaching staff as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. Offensive coaching assistant Mike Judge also joined Harvard University as a wide receivers coach. Departures Free agency saw the departure of two 2006 starters for the Patriots: tight end Daniel Graham signed with the Denver Broncos, and linebacker Tully Banta-Cain signed with the San Francisco 49ers, while running back Corey Dillon, the Patriots’ leading rusher in 2006, asked to be released; the Patriots released him on March 2. Safety Tebucky Jones was also released early in the offseason. Another departure came when punter Todd Sauerbrun signed with the Denver Broncos. When Sauerbrun was signed by the Patriots in December 2006, he agreed to a right of first refusal, meaning that the Patriots could match any offer by any other team made in the subsequent offseason. When the unrestricted free agent signing period came, the Broncos tendered Sauerbrun, and the Patriots exercised their right and matched the offer. However, the Broncos argued that the Patriots had not filed the proper documents required for that right, and ordered a hearing before an NFL special master. The Broncos won this hearing and Sauerbrun was allowed to sign with the Broncos. After spending all of training camp with the team, veteran punter Josh Miller was released on August 16. Arrivals In the first week of free agency, the Patriots traded their second- and seventh-round picks in the 2007 NFL Draft to the Miami Dolphins for wide receiver Wes Welker. A restricted free agent, Welker signed a five-year contract with the Patriots to complete the trade. During the second day of the draft, the Patriots added yet another wide receiver, this time trading a fourth-round draft pick (which the Patriots acquired the day before from the San Francisco 49ers with the 49ers’ 2008 first-round pick in exchange for the Patriots’ original 2007 first-round pick) to the Oakland Raiders for Randy Moss, who agreed to take a pay cut of over US$6 million. The