The New England Patriots claimed rookie defensive tackle Bruce Gaston from the Arizona Cardinals on waivers on Sunday and released linebacker and core special-teamer Chris White to make room on the roster.

The team announced those transactions, in addition to the previously reported moves of claiming rookie defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles and trading quarterback Ryan Mallett to the Texans.

Gaston, who was featured in our "beyond the first round" series leading into the draft as a possible Patriots fit, was a team captain at Purdue who played in 50 games over his college career. The 22-year-old Gaston was originally signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent on May 12.

The 6-foot-2, 310-pound Gaston might have caught the Patriots' eye in the preseason finale when he totaled six tackles and a quarterback hit against the Chargers. Up to that point, Gaston had only played nine defensive snaps over the first three preseason games.

Between Quarles and Gaston, the Patriots are stocking up on young defensive defensive tackles, an area where they already had a deep stable of personnel with Vince Wilfork, Dominique Easley, Chris Jones, Sealver Siliga, Joe Vellano and Zach Moore.

As for White, he played on all four of the team's core special-teams units -- kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return and punt coverage. The Patriots are thin in that area, and there could more roster juggling ahead to account for that role.