Patriots add wide receiver Damiere Byrd on reported one-year contract

The first out-of-house signing for the 2020 New England Patriots comes at wide receiver.

New England has agreed to terms with Damiere Byrd on a one-year contract, NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday evening.

Byrd, 27, has been a member of the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2015.

The 5-foot-9, 180-pound South Carolina product stands with 44 receptions for 488 yards and three touchdowns on his NFL resume. And his work on special teams includes 14 kick returns for 353 yards with an additional TD, as well as a dozen punt returns for 113 yards.

Last season in Arizona, Byrd saw 43 percent of the offensive snaps. A career-high 32 catches for 359 yards and one score were logged. He appeared in 11 games while starting three.

Byrd spent his initial four NFL seasons with Carolina, residing on the practice squad for all of his rookie campaign before checking into 17 games through 2018.

Byrd had clocked the 40-yard dash in 4.28 seconds and the three-cone drill in 6.6 seconds at South Carolina’s pro day. Five springs later, he joins a wideout depth chart in New England that includes Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski, Quincy Adeboyejo, Devin Ross and captain Matthew Slater on special teams.

The new league year begins at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday.