FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots have signed tight end Kellen Winslow and re-signed wide receiver Deion Branch to add depth to a pass-catching group that lost Aaron Hernandez to a right ankle injury.
The announcement Wednesday came three days after the tight end was hurt on the Patriots’ third offensive play of their 20-18 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The Patriots have not said how many games they expect him to miss.
“I just met Kellen (Tuesday) for the first time, so I’m excited to get out there and practice with him,” quarterback Tom Brady said Wednesday. “Aaron has been a huge contributor for us and every time he’s in there, he seems to be making plays. We’ll see how it goes without him or with him, I don’t know. It’s just a matter of him feeling well enough to go out there and play.”
Winslow was released by the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 1 after spending the past three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following five seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He had 75 receptions last season and has 437 in his career since being taken with the sixth pick of the 2004 draft out of Miami.
“We’ll see how Kellen fits in,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said before Wednesday’s practice. “I’ve never coached him before, don’t have any background with him, but (we) feel like he might have a chance to help us so that’s why he’s here.”
The Patriots released Branch when they made their final cuts, but Branch, who caught 51 passes last season, kept his nameplate above his locker and his possessions inside it.
Branch said he drew interest from other teams but for family and other reasons, he preferred the Patriots, although he wouldn’t say if there was an understanding that New England would bring him back.
“The days I was off I was still working out,” he said. “My agent was busy on the phone doing his job and I was doing my job. It was just all about the right time and the right place.”
Branch is confident he’ll fit right back into the offense.
“That’s the goal and I’m sure the coaches are expecting it out of me and that’s what I’m going to deliver,” he said. “There’s a couple of new plays. It shouldn’t take long. It’ll take a day or so. I’ll be all right.
New England also re-signed linebacker Niko Koutouvides and released running back Lex Hilliard, linebacker Mike Rivera and wide receiver Greg Salas, a Hawaii alum obtained from the St. Louis Rams after Branch was cut.
Giants’ wideout Nicks won’t play today
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants will be without NFC offensive player of the week Hakeem Nicks for today’s game against the Carolina Panthers (1-1).
Nicks, a wide receiver, has a foot injury, adding to the list of absentees when the Super Bowl-champion Giants (1-1) play their first road game of the season. New York made the announcement late Wednesday afternoon after already labeling running back Ahmad Bradshaw, offensive tackle David Diehl and another receiver, Domenik Hixon, out as well.
Nicks did not practice this week after aggravating a foot injury late in the Giants’ 41-34 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had 10 catches for 199 yards and a touchdown in the game.
There didn’t seem to be much concern over his lack of practice because he hasn’t practiced much since sitting out almost all of training camp while recovering from a broken foot suffered in May. The Giants even listed him as questionable for the game in their initial injury report Wednesday. However, Nicks did not participate in the final walkthrough, and he did not accompany the team to North Carolina, his home state.
With Nicks and Hixon out, the Giants will look to veteran Ramses Barden, second-year pro Jerrel Jernigan and rookie Rueben Randle to fill in.
Bradshaw (neck), Diehl (knee) and Hixon (concussion) were hurt in Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay and did not practice this week. Andre Brown, who rushed for a career-best 71 yards Sunday, probably will start for Bradshaw, while Will Beatty and Sean Locklear will be the offensive tackles.
Diehl, who sprained his right medial collateral ligament, has only missed four games in his first nine seasons.
Morgan deals with Twitter death threats
ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Redskins receiver Joshua Morgan felt the full downside of the social media age this week, receiving death threats and other venomous message on Twitter because of his fourth-quarter blunder in the loss to the St. Louis Rams.
Morgan talked Wednesday about the nastiness he’s heard from fans since his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing the ball at Cortland Finnegan. The penalty cost the Redskins field position during the team’s final drive in Sunday’s 31-28 defeat.
“I heard everything, especially when they get you on Twitter and are sending you death threats and wishing you bad things and your firstborn,” Morgan said. “You see it all, you hear it all. You never let it get to you, especially with me being from D.C. They treated me kind of like they did (San Francisco 49ers return man) Kyle Williams last year when he dropped a punt against the Giants.”
Morgan said the threats are keeping him focused. He said he wasn’t tempted to discontinue his Twitter account.
Falcons RB Turner apologizes for DUI
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner apologized Wednesday to the team for his drunken driving arrest, saying he made “a bad decision” and was prepared to deal with the consequences.
Turner was pulled over by police in suburban Gwinnett County around 5 a.m. Tuesday — just hours after scoring a touchdown in Atlanta’s 27-21 win over Denver. Police say he was clocked going 97 mph in a 65-mph zone and booked him into jail on a DUI charge after a field sobriety test.
“I shouldn’t have been in this situation to begin with,” Turner said, meeting with reporters outside the locker room at the Falcons’ suburban training complex. “I’ve got to learn from it.”
Turner will play Sunday when Atlanta (2-0) travels to San Diego to face the Chargers, his former team. Under the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, he would be subjected to random alcohol testing and could face additional sanctions if there’s another brush with the law.
