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FOXBORO - The Patriots wore red uniforms for the first 40 years of their existence, but the level of success they attained inside those jerseys didn't warrant revered status from fans.

Now, in the wake of four Super Bowls (and three wins) in the current blue-based uniform, it's apparently OK for fans to embrace the hue of years past.

The Patriots will be wearing a "throwback" jersey this year as part of the celebration of the team's 50th anniversary season, which coincides with the NFL's celebration of the founding of the American Football League. And now, it appears they will be wearing the retro duds more than anticipated.

The original plan was for the team to wear throwback uniforms three times during the upcoming season, including the season-opening Monday Night Football game at Gillette Stadium against the Buffalo Bills (Sept. 14, 7 p.m.), another original AFL team. But the Patriots' vice president in charge of media relations, Stacey James, said Thursday that the throwback schedule has been upped to four games, and requests have been made to the NFL to include a fifth.

The Patriots play two original AFL teams as part of their AFC East schedule, the Bills and New York Jets (who began life as the New York Titans). They are also playing two other original-AFL teams this year, the Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans (originally the Houston Oilers). The Patriots' throwback jerseys are solid red with white untrimmed letters and numerals and a blue-white-blue striping pattern on the shoulders, reminiscent of the mid-1960s uniforms worn by the team. There is also a white-jersey version.

Patrick Chung, the first player selected by the Patriots in this year's NFL Draft, was presented one of the retro-look uniforms by team owner Robert Kraft in a welcoming ceremony Thursday at Gillette Stadium.

The team has worn red-themed throwbacks on four occasions in the past, in two games in 1994 as part of the NFL's 75th anniversary celebration, and in two Thanksgiving games in Detroit. The latter throwbacks were copies of the modified original-style uniform that the Patriots wore in the 1980s until 1993, when the team changed its primary color to blue and adopted the "Flying Elvis" logo to coincide with the arrival of Bill Parcells as head coach.

There have been three alterations of the blue jersey since, the last a major revamping in 2000 when Bill Belichick became head coach. The Patriots also had an alternate silver jersey in the current style, but have discontinued its use.

As part of the throwback look, the Patriots will change their headgear in those games, donning white helmets adorned with the Pat Patriot logo created by cartoonist Phil Bissell in the 1960s.

New bodies

The Patriots were busy on the personnel front Thursday, swinging a deal for a veteran tight end and signing five undrafted free agents.

They sent an undisclosed selection in the 2010 draft to Tampa Bay for Alex Smith, 26, a veteran of four NFL seasons. Smith (6-4, 258) was a third-round pick (71st overall) of the Bucs in 2005 out of Stanford. In four seasons, Smith played in 58 games with 43 starts and caught 129 passes for 1,252 yards and 11 touchdowns. Last season, he played in 14 games with 12 starts and caught 21 passes for 250 yards and three touchdowns. His career high of 41 catches in a season came as a rookie.

The rookie free agents coming on board were linebacker Antonio Appleby of Virginia, quarterback Brian Hoyer of Michigan State, cornerback Jamar Love of Arkansas, safety Marcus McClinton of Kentucky and offensive lineman Jermail Porte of Kent State. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

Porter is the eyebrow-raiser in the pack, having never played college or high school football. Like veteran Stephen Neal before him, Porter (6-5, 210) was a wrestler at Kent State, finishing with a 119-43 career record from the 2004-05 season to the 2008-09 campaign. He finished sixth at the 2009 NCAA Wrestling Championships as a heavyweight and earned All-America status.