Patriots reportedly signing wide receiver Donte Moncrief to 53-man roster

The standard elevations from the practice squad are in the rearview for Donte Moncrief.

The New England Patriots now intend to sign the veteran wide receiver to the 53-man roster, Doug Kyed of NESN.com reported Saturday.

Moncrief, 27, has appeared in consecutive games as a call-up and reversion for New England. He’s handled one catch for 15 yards as well as a pair of kickoff returns for 75 yards.

The Ole Miss product saw five snaps on offense and 21 snaps on special teams over recent matchups with the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals.

“Donte has had a real good attitude since he got here,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said during a video conference this week. “He’s had to learn some different things offensively, both terminology and some route concepts and so forth, but he’s done a good job of that. He’s shown his good running skills and good athleticism and good hands. So, those are good qualities for a kickoff returner. He’s got good size and speed and toughness and runs hard.”

Moncrief, who entered the league with the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2014 draft, has also been a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers and New York Jets. Through 79 career games and 43 starts, he stands with 205 receptions for 2,576 yards and 21 touchdowns.

The 6-foot-2, 216-pound wideout joined New England’s scout team to begin November. He will now join Jakobi Meyers, Damiere Byrd, N’Keal Harry, Gunner Olszewski and Isaiah Ford on the active depth chart.

The Patriots, with an opening remaining on the roster, face the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Kickoff at SoFi Stadium is set for 4:25 p.m. ET.