Patriots fill practice squad with defensive end Eric Lee, safety Adarius Pickett

The New England Patriots’ practice squad returned to capacity on Wednesday.

In addition to signing kicker Josh Gable, as reported by Field Yates of ESPN, New England announced the arrivals defensive end Eric Lee and safety Adarius Pickett.

It is a return for Lee, who’d been signed by the Patriots off the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad in November 2017. The 25-year-old South Florida product made five starts off the edge of the New England defense to close that regular season, recording 19 tackles, 3.5 sacks, a safety and an interception. Lee appeared in Super Bowl LII, and went on to appear in nine games for the Detroit Lions after he was waived at the 2018 roster deadline. Lee began this fall on Detroit’s practice squad.

Pickett entered the league with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent in May. A 29-game starter in the UCLA secondary, Pickett led the Bruins with 123 tackles as a redshirt senior on the way to second-team All-Pac-12 recognition. The 23-year-old defensive back recorded 17 tackles and an interception during his rookie preseason with the Chargers. Pickett worked out for the Patriots in September before joining the Chargers’ practice squad.

New England’s scout team entered Wednesday at seven.

Center Tyler Gauthier and cornerback Nate Brooks departed earlier in the week for the 53-man rosters of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins, respectively.