Patriots Claim Two Players Off Waivers

According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, the Patriots claimed wide receiver Leonard Hankerson and offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle off of waivers today.Hankerson, a fifth year pro out of Miami, was claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons. Prior to this season, the wide out had spent his first four years in the league with the Washington Redskins.

He was placed on IR earlier this season, but will be able to play with the Pats. If he can catch on quickly with the playbook and prove himself as a reliable, pass-catching target for quarterback Tom Brady, he could find himself on the field as early as this week.

Waddle, who was claimed off waivers from the Detroit Lions, is a third year pro out of Texas Tech. He has played in 30 games with 24 starts since entering the league as an undrafted free agent with Detroit.

The 328-pounder will join Sebastian Vollmer, Marcus Cannon and Cameron Fleming as tackle options on the team's depth chart.

To make room for both Hankerson and Waddle on the 53-man roster, the Patriots officially placed running back LeGarrette Blount on Injured Reserve and released wide receiver Damaris Johnson.