FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have signed QB Brian Hoyer to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and elevated DL Tashawn Bower and K Nick Folk to the active roster from the practice squad.
In addition, the Patriots placed rookie K Quinn Nordin on injured reserve. Nordin was inactive for the regular season opener vs. Miami last week.
Hoyer, 35, was released by New England on Aug. 31 and was then signed to the practice squad on Sept. 1. He was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster the day prior to the season opener and dressed but did not play against Miami. He reverted to the practice squad the day after the game. Hoyer originally joined the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Michigan State in 2009. The 6-foot-2, 216-pounder is a veteran of 12 NFL seasons and has spent time with Arizona (2012), Pittsburgh (2012), Cleveland (2013-14), Houston (2015), Chicago (2016), San Francisco (2017) and Indianapolis (2019), in addition to New England.
Bower, 26, originally signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie free agent out of Louisiana State on May 5, 2017. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder appeared in seven regular season games as a reserve over two seasons for the Vikings and totaled seven tackles and one sack. Bower began the 2019 season on Minnesota's non-football injury list before being finishing the season on the Patriots practice squad. He started the 2020 season on the New England practice squad, was elevated to the active roster two times and then signed to the 53-man roster in early November. Bower appeared in seven games last season with three starts and finished with 11 total tackles.
Folk, 36, was released on the final cut-down this past summer and was signed to the practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad the day before the season opener and connected on all three field goals (27, 42, and 33) and one extra point in the opener against Miami. Folk reverted to the practice squad the day after the game. He was re-signed by the Patriots on March 23, 2021. The 6-foot-1, 222-pounder is a veteran of 13 NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys (2007-09), New York Jets (2010-16), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2017) and the Patriots (2019-20).
