Coming off the heels of losing their number one wide receiver, Julian Edelman, to a broken foot, the New England Patriots have reportedly made a move to add depth at the position. 

According to ESPN's Field Yates, the team signed practice squad receiver Chris Harper to the active roster today. To free up room for Harper on the 53-man roster, lineman Chris Barker, who was added from the practice squad before Sunday's game to add depth along the ailing offensive line, was cut.

The move isn't terribly surprising as the addition of Harper will help add another layer of depth to the receiving corps. Receiver Keshawn Martin has missed the last few games with a hamstring injury, so the Patriots only have three other true wide receivers on the roster (Danny Amendola, Brandon LaFell, Aaron Dobson).

Harper, an undrafted rookie out of California, decided to declare after his sophomore season, but took an unsuspected fall out of the draft. He was signed by the Patriots on May 8, 2015. He played very well in the preseason and made the team out of camp, but was cut on September 15 as the team need the spot for depth at other positions. The were able to resign him to the practice squad and keep him for an opportunity such as this, though.

The decision to cut Barker, who played very sparingly last week as a backup, is a good sign of the health of starting tackle Sebastian Vollmer. Vollmer missed the second half against Washington and all of the New York game with a concussion. If the team has made this move on a Tuesday, they must be pretty sure that Vollmer will clear the league's concussion protocol and be eligible to play this coming Monday, against the Buffalo Bills.

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