The New England Patriots signed defensive back Leonard Johnson to their 53-man roster on Wednesday.
Johnson, 25, was released from Tampa Bay’s injured reserve list on Dec. 3. The 5-foot-10, 202-pounder originally entered the NFL in 2012 as a rookie free agent with Tampa Bay out of Iowa State. He has played in 48 NFL games (17 starts), registering 139 tackles, five interceptions with two touchdowns, 20 passes defensed, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and nine special teams tackles.
The Patriots waived cornerback Rashaan Melvin on Tuesday. Melvin, 26, was claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 14 and played in eight games for the Patriots. He had three tackles and two special teams tackles for the Patriots.
In addition, the Patriots signed linebacker Eric Martin to the practice squad. Martin, 24, was released by the Patriots on Nov. 27. He made the 53-man roster out of training camp and played in the opening game before being released on Sept. 12. He was signed to the practice squad on Sept. 16 before being re-signed to the 53-man roster on Nov. 12. Martin played in two games after re-joining the 53-man roster and finished with three special teams tackles.
Patriots’ Brady leads Pro Bowl voting
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, with 502,913 votes, leads all NFL players in balloting for the 2016 Pro Bowl as one week of fans voting remains, the league announced Wednesday.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (473,460 votes) ranks second overall, while Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (389,062 votes), Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (359,158 votes) and Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski round out the top five on NFL.com.
Fans voting for the 2016 Pro Bowl will continue online and on web-enabled mobile phones at www.NFL.com/probowl/ballot until Dec. 15. NFL players and coaches will cast their votes on Dec. 18.
The Pro Bowl players are determined by the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts one-third toward determining the 88 All-Star players who will be eligible for the Pro Bowl Draft.
The Pro Bowl players will be announced on Dec. 22 on NFL Network. Players will later be assigned to teams through the Pro Bowl Draft on Jan. 27.
The 2016 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, Jan. 31 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
The Pro Bowl will continue using the revised game format that debuted in 2014, with NFL Legends captains having final say over Pro Bowl Draft decisions. The Pro Bowl will remain “unconferenced” — players will be selected without regard to conference in voting by fans, coaches and players and later assigned to Pro Bowl teams via a fantasy football-style draft.
Four leading vote getters — comprised of two offensive and two defensive player captains — will be joined by two NFL.com fantasy football champions to draft players.
The fantasy football champion will have Hall of Fame help. Two Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receivers — Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice — will serve as NFL Legends captains for the 2016 Pro Bowl.