FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced today that they have signed tight end Stephen Anderson to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and signed defensive back A.J. Howard and offensive lineman Dan Skipper to the practice squad. In addition, New England has placed tight end Jacob Hollister on injured reserve.

Anderson, 25, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Houston Texans out of California on May 6, 2016. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder played in 28 regular-season games with five starts over two seasons in Houston and totaled 36 receptions for 435 yards and two touchdowns. Anderson also appeared in two 2016 postseason contests and did not accrue any statistics. He was released by Houston on Sept. 1, 2018, and signed by New England to the practice squad on Sept. 6, 2018.

Howard, 23, signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a rookie free agent out of Appalachian State on April 30, 2018. The 5-foot-11, 203-pounder was released by Arizona prior to the start of the regular season and signed with the New York Giants practice squad on Oct. 25, 2018. He was released on Jan. 2, 2019. Howard appeared in 51 games with 38 starts over four seasons at Appalachian State and totaled 219 tackles, four interceptions, 18 passes defensed and two forced fumbles. He started all 13 games in each of his final two seasons in college and posted 66 tackles, one interception and eight passes defensed as a senior in 2017.