The face-paced offseason continued for the New England Patriots Tuesday, as they officially inked second-round selection, Illinois defensive back Tavon Hill, to a deal and then released quarterback Mike Hartline. The move to release Hartline bring the Patriots roster size to 88 players. New England is allowed 90 during the offseason.

On Friday, the details of the deal with Hill were reported by Scout.com's Aaron Wilson. The Patriots are expected to use Wilson, who was one of six defensive selection for New England, to help improve one of the worst defenses in the league last season.

So far, Hill is the first of the seven 2012 NFL Draft picks to ink a deal with the Patriots, who still have not reached agreements with first-rounders Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower.

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