FOXBOROUGH, Mass. –The New England Patriots announced today that they have signed DB Alex Carter and OL Cole Toner to the practice squad and released QB Taylor Heinicke and OL Jason King from the practice squad.
Carter, 22, was originally drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round (80th overall) of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Stanford. The 6-foot, 200-pounder missed his rookie season due to injury. Carter began the 2016 season on the Detroit practice squad before being added to the 53-man roster on Dec. 24, 2016. He appeared in one regular season game at Dallas (12/26) and did not accrue any statistics, while seeing action on special teams. Carter went to training camp with the Lions this year and was released prior to the start of the regular season.
Toner, 23, was originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round (170th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. The 6-foot-7, 300-pounder appeared in two games for Arizona as a rookie, appearing as a reserve. Toner went to training camp with the Cardinals this year and was released prior to the start of the regular season. He signed with the Cincinnati practice squad on Sept. 4 and was released on Sept. 29.
Heinicke, 24, was signed by New England to the practice squad on Sept. 23. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder was originally signed by the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie free agent out of Old Dominion on May 6, 2015. Heinicke made the Minnesota 53-man roster as a rookie in 2015 but was inactive for all 16 games. He began the 2016 season on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list before being elevated to the 53-man roster on Nov. 8, where he was inactive for the last seven weeks of the season. Heincke was released by Minnesota on Sept. 11, 2017.
King, 23, was signed by New England to the practice squad on Sept. 20, 2017. The 6-foot-4, 310-pounder was originally signed by the New England Patriots as a rookie free agent from Purdue on May 5, 2017. King went through training camp with the team and was released prior to the start of the regular season. He was three year starter at left guard at Purdue after first entering the starting lineup as a redshirt freshman in 2013.
