FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced today that they have re-signed RB Brandon Bolden. Bolden was released by the Patriots on the final cut-down on September 2.Â
In addition, the Patriots placed LB Shea McClellin on injured reserve.Â
The Patriots also signed WR Demarcus Ayers and DE Angelo Blackson to the practice squad and released DL Darius Kilgo from the practice squad.Â
Bolden, 27, was signed by New England as an unrestricted free agent on April 5, 2017. The 5-foot-11, 220-pounder was originally signed by New England as a rookie free agent on May 10, 2012. In five seasons, Bolden has appeared mostly on special teams in 67 regular season games with six starts and totaled 203 rushing attempts for 845 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 46 passes for 366 yards and two touchdowns. Bolden has played in 12 playoff games with two starts and rushed eight times for 19 yards and caught four passes for 37 yards.
Ayers, 23, was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round (229th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Houston. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder spent time on the active roster and practice squad for the Steelers as a rookie, seeing action in two regular season games with one start and finishing with six receptions for 53 yards and one touchdown. He played in two postseason games and caught three passes for 27 yards. He was released by Pittsburgh on Sept. 2.Â
Blackson, 24, was originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft (100th overall) out of Auburn. The 6-foot-4, 318-pounder, played in 29 games with one start over the last two seasons and registered 33 total tackles, 2½ sacks and one forced fumble. He was released by the Titans on September 2.