Patriots release LB Brandon Spikes after his car found abandoned

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The New England Patriots released Brandon Spikes on Monday morning as Massachusetts State Police investigate an accident involving a vehicle registered to the linebacker.

Per a statement, police said they found a Mercedes Maybach abandoned in a median on Interstate-495 near Foxborough, Mass., near the Patriots' facilities early Sunday morning. The car had front-end damage, and a representative from the OnStar navigation system told officers the driver had reported hitting a deer. No deer was found at the scene, police said.

Shortly after responding to the report of the abandoned Maybach at 3:30 a.m. ET, police were also called by the occupants of a Nissan Murano, who reported they had been rear-ended by an unknown vehicle in the same area of I-495 Sunday. The three occupants of that car, an adult man and woman along with a 12-year-old boy, were transported to a hospital with minor injuries.

Police said that "no connection has yet been established" between the two incidents, but that the investigation is ongoing. Officers have not yet determined who was driving the Maybach.

Spikes was drafted in the second round by the Patriots out of the University of Florida in 2010 and played four seasons with New England before spending 2014 with the Buffalo Bills. He re-signed with the Patriots last month.

Spikes served a four-game suspension in 2010 for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Though he was fined several times for on-field incidents, he had no other personal conduct policy violations.

He was placed on injured reserve on Jan. 6, 2014 in his fourth season with the Patriots before their first playoff game after playing with an injured knee during the season. He questioned the decision to place him on IR.

"It's just great," Spikes said upon joining Buffalo. "(To) be somewhere I'm wanted — that was the whole thing for me."

On May 18 this year, he returned to the Patriots under a one-year deal to shore up a linebacking corps hit by injuries. Dont'a Hightower may not be ready for the season following shoulder surgery after New England's win over the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, and Jerod Mayo played only the first six games before a right knee injury that required surgery ended his season.

"It just feels great to be home and I'm happy to be there," Spikes said on May 29 during the Patriots organized team activities. "I'm here to work and make this ballclub. It's that simple."

He didn't want to discuss his previous stint with the team.

"You can clearly see that me and the Hoodie (coach Bill Belichick) kissed and made up," Spikes said. "I'm here. That's in the past and I'm moving on. "

A strong defender against the run, Spikes has played 66 NFL games with 384 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, seven forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

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Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones