FOXBOROUGH, Mass. –The New England Patriots announced today that they have activated QB Tom Brady and DL Rob Ninkovich to the 53-man roster. Both players were activated form the NFL Exempt List.
In addition, the Patriots signed rookie DL Woodrow Hamilton to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and released G Jonathan Cooper from the 53-man roster.
Hamilton, 23, was originally signed by New England as a rookie free agent out of Mississippi on May 6, 2016. The 6-foot-3, 315-pounder, was released on Sept. 3, and signed to the practice squad on Sept. 5. He played in 47 games with 25 starts at nose tackle during his college career, finishing with 83 total tackles.
Cooper, 26, was acquired by New England in a trade with Arizona on March 15, 2016. The 6-foot-2, 312-pounder, originally joined Arizona as a first-round draft pick (7th overall) out of North Carolina in the 2013 NFL Draft. After missing his entire rookie season in 2013 due to injury, Cooper appeared in 10 games with two starts at left guard in 2014. Last season, Cooper played in 14 games with nine starts at right guard. He played as a reserve in both of the Arizona postseason games. Cooper was inactive for the first four games with the Patriots this season.
