Bill Lenkaitis, a former longtime offensive lineman for the New England Patriots who became the team dentist, died on Saturday. He was 70.

In announcing his death, the team said he had brain cancer. It did not say where he died.

The San Diego Chargers drafted Lenkaitis out of Penn State in the second round of the 1968 American Football League draft. After three seasons in San Diego, he played 11 seasons in New England.

He started 119 games, including all 16 in 1978, when the Patriots set an N.F.L. team rushing record with 3,165 yards, which still stands.

William Edward Lenkaitis was born in Strongsville, Ohio, on June 30, 1946, to Lewis and Myrtle Lenkaitis. At Penn State, he was the captain of the football team in 1967.