Sergio Brown

The Patriots have released safety Sergio Brown.

The defensive back, who confirmed the reports he’d been released via his personal Twitter feed, signed as a rookie free agent in April 2010 out of Notre Dame. He spent the last two years in New England, playing in 26 regular-season games. His best season came last year, when he started three games and came away with 37 tackles (28 solo), with one interception and one pass defensed. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Brown also spent extensive time on special teams, and finished the 2011 season with nine special teams tackles.

The news was first reported by Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe.

To this point, the Patriots have released Brown, defensive back Derrick Martin, defensive end/linebacker Aaron Larvarias, wide receiver Deion Branch, quarterback Brian Hoyer, offensive lineman Dan Koppen and defensive back James Ihedigbo in their attempts to get down to 53 players before the league mandated deadline of Friday at 9 p.m.