FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced today that they have placed RB Shane Vereen on injured reserve with a designation to return. The team re-signed TE Matthew Mulligan to replace Vereen on the 53-man roster.
In addition, the Patriots re-signed DL A.J. Francis to the practice squad and released WR Quentin Sims from the practice squad.
Mulligan, 28, was signed by the Patriots on Sept. 3, 2013, and released on Sept. 5. The 6-foot-4, 267-pounder is a veteran of four NFL seasons with the New York Jets (2009-11) and the St. Louis Rams (2012). He went to training camp this past summer with Green Bay after signing with the Packers in April but was released on Aug. 31. Mulligan has played in 50 NFL games with 20 starts and has 14 receptions for 144 yards and one touchdown.
Mulligan originally entered the NFL with Miami in 2008 as a rookie free agent out of Maine. He spent his first NFL season on the practice squads of Miami and Tennessee and then was claimed off waivers in 2009 by the New York Jets after being released by Tennessee during training camp. After spending the first nine weeks of the 2009 season on the Jets' practice squad, he earned a position on the 53-man roster. Following three seasons with the Jets, Mulligan was signed by St. Louis as an unrestricted free agent. He was released by St. Louis on March 22, 2013, and signed by Green Bay on April 9, 2013. Last season with the Rams, Mulligan played in 16 games with nine starts and caught eight passes for 84 yards and one touchdown.
Francis, 23, was claimed by the Patriots off waivers from Miami on Sept 1, 2013, and was released on Sept. 7. He was originally signed by the Miami Dolphins as a rookie free agent out of Maryland on May 3, 2013. The 6-foot, 316-pounder was released by Miami on Aug. 31. He was a four-year letterman at Maryland and recorded 149 total tackles, 9½ sacks and three blocked kicks.
Sims, 23, originally joined the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Tennessee-Martin on July 19, 2013. The 6-foot-3, 202-pounder was released on Aug. 31, and signed to the practice squad on Sept. 2. He played two seasons at Georgia Tech (2009-10) before transferring to Tennessee-Martin in 2011. Sims had 86 receptions for 1,092 yards and 16 touchdowns last season.
