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The New England Patriots’ busy weekend is far from over. The team has reportedly made two more moves affecting both the active 53-man roster and the practice squad.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, New England has placed tight end Ryan Izzo on the injured reserve list:
The Patriots are placing seventh-round TE Ryan Izzo on IR, per source. He will be eligible to return after at least eight games if the team chooses so at a later date.
The move does not come as a surprise, after reports yesterday that the Patriots were expected to move the rookie to the reserve list. However, that they waited until today to do it is good news for the seventh-round draft pick: Izzo is now eligible to be reactivated off injured reserve at a later point during the season to potentially add more depth to a group consisting of Rob Gronkowski, Dwayne Allen and Jacob Hollister.
[UPDATE] It sounds like the Patriots will not be able to reactivate Izzo off the reserve list, as they have placed him there before Sunday’s 4:00 p.m. ET deadline.
New England placing Izzo on IR creates another open spot on the 53-man roster. The Patriots were in need of one after claiming two wide receivers – Chad Hansen and Amara Darboh – off waivers despite having only one spot available. Now Hansen and Darboh both fit onto the team.
New England, according to a report by The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, has also made another addition to its practice squad by signing wide receiver Riley McCarron:
Riley McCarron stocking with the Patriots practice squad, per source.
McCarron finished the preseason with five catches for 55 yards, was unable to make the 53-man team despite the Patriots being rather light at the wide receiver position. However, the team apparently felt better about having the second-year man exposed to waivers than keeping him around on the active team. The move paid off and McCarron now becomes the fifth player on the practice squad.