Paris Lenon is one of two defensive acquisitions the Patriots made from last season's Detroit Lions team.

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

FOXBORO — If there were an NFL passport, a book in which players would receive a stamp for every stop they made along the way to fulfilling their dream of playing in the league, Paris Lenon's would be full.

His impressions would be as varied as they would be numerous: the University of Richmond, Carolina, the U.S. Postal Service, Memphis, Green Bay, Seattle, Green Bay again, Amsterdam, Detroit and now New England.

The new Patriots linebacker, signed last week, clearly had quite a journey to get to this point in his career.

After his college days with the Spiders, in his home state of Virginia, the two-time all-conference player went undrafted. In a stint with the Carolina Panthers, who signed him after the draft, he didn't make it through his first training camp.

That's where the Postal Service comes in.

As he waited for his next NFL chance, Lenon got a job sorting mail on the overnight shift for $10 an hour, which allowed him to work out in the afternoon.

"At that point in my life, I wanted to play football. I knew what I was capable of, I just needed the right opportunity," Lenon said Tuesday after New England's passing-camp session. "Football was my career, but I needed money. It was 11 (p.m.) to 7 (a.m.). I was like a vampire — I had dark curtains, I'd come home, sleep, train, eat, rest and (go) back to work."

Lenon was out of football for the 2000 season. In '01, he earned his next stamp, with the Memphis Maniax of the ill-fated XFL. A Packers scout assigned to keeping an eye on players in that league, Marc Lillibridge, saw Lenon, and he got a shot with Green Bay.

Again, however, before the ink had dried on the page, Lenon was on the move again. He spent the offseason with the Packers but was released before training camp. A month later, his passport had another entry, this time with the Seahawks.

But it wasn't to be. He lasted less than two weeks in Seattle.

And then, finally, Lenon was able to put his passport away for a while.

Green Bay brought him back late in the 2001 season, and he spent the final weeks of the campaign on the team's practice squad. The next year, he was on the Packers' roster — making it through training camp for the first time — and played in all 16 games as a special-teamer.

In that time, Green Bay allocated him to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe. That was the farthest he had to travel to add an entry in the passport. Europe, particularly Amsterdam, "definitely was different."

Asked why, Lenon's eyes widened.

"Have you ever been there? The things people are allowed to do in broad daylight are quite unique," he said.

The 6-foot-2, 31-year-old remained with the Packers for three more seasons, starting four games in 2004 and 12 in 2005, recording 65 tackles, 1½ sacks and six passes defensed.

That season led to a three-year contract with the Lions. This time, Lenon had a bit more say in where his next stop would be.

Lenon started all 48 games when he was with Detroit, leading the team in tackles over the last two seasons.

His personal success, however, was tempered by the team's failures. In 2008, Lenon and fellow Pats newcomer Leigh Bodden endured the ignominy of the league's first 0-16 season.

"What happened last year was last year, but it still kind of gnaws at you," said Lenon, who was fervent in his backing of Bodden as a top cornerback. "He's a (heck) of a football player. We're in a similar situation; I'm just really hungry. I can't speak for him, but I (assume) he feels the same way."

Despite being one of the better players on the Lions' roster, Lenon wasn't a hot commodity when he hit the free-agent market this spring. He admits that he wondered why his only visit was to New England, but at the same time, that's behind him and he's focused on learning a 3-4 defensive system entirely different than the Tampa-2 he played in the last few years.

During Tuesday's practice session, Lenon was spotted next to linebackers coach Matt Patricia at one point, a place he's found himself in many times over the last few days.

"I am not afraid to ask questions," Lenon said. "Right now, it's all about learning. I'm not looking too far into the future. I need to get this scheme down in my head because it's really involved.

"I don't think there are unique challenges (to learning the Pats' system); they're challenges. It's the NFL and it's different, and that's why I love it."

He must. Just look at all of the stamps it took him to get to Foxboro.

smanza@projo.com