FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots announced today that the team has signed LB Niko Koutouvides to the 53-man roster and signed DB Sterling Moore from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.
The Patriots also announced that S Josh Barrett has been placed on injured reserve with a calf injury. Barrett played in five games with four starts in 2011 and collected 14 total tackles.
In addition, the Patriots announced that LB Mike Rivera, S Ross Ventrone and DB Josh Victorian have been signed to the practice squad and DB Malcolm Williams has been released from the practice squad.
Koutouvides, 30, was signed by the Patriots on Aug. 14, 2011 and released on Sept. 3, 2011. He is a veteran of seven NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks (2004-07), Denver Broncos (2008) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2010). Koutouvides, 6-2, 238 pounds, originally entered the NFL as a fourth round draft pick (116th overall) of Seattle in 2004 out of Purdue. Koutouvides has played in 103 games with two starts and registered 101 special teams tackles and 54 total tackles on defense. He has also played in eight postseason games, including Super Bowl XL while with Seattle.
Moore, 21, is in his second stint on the Patriots 53-man roster. He was signed from the practice squad to the 53-man roster on Oct. 15 and played in the win against Dallas. Moore, 5-10, 205 pounds, originally was signed by the Oakland Raiders as a rookie free agent out of Southern Methodist on July 28, 2011. He was released by the Raiders after training camp and spent the first few weeks on the Oakland practice squad before being released on Sept. 26, 2011. Moore was signed to the Patriots' practice squad on Oct. 5.
Rivera, 25, spent time on the Tennessee practice squad in 2009 and the Green Bay practice squad in 2010 before being signed to the Miami 53-man roster for the final game of the 2010 season. He originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Chicago out of Kansas in 2009. Rivera, 6-2, 252 pounds, was released by Miami following the 2011 training camp. Â
Ventrone, 25, has spent time on both the practice squad and 53-man roster this season, playing in four games. Ventrone, 5-8, 190 pounds, was originally signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent out of Villanova on April 29, 2010. He spent the majority of his rookie season in 2010 on the New England practice squad.
Victorian, 23, went to training camp with Baltimore after signing with the Ravens as a rookie free agent out of Louisiana Tech on July 28, 2011. Victorian, 5-10, 190 pounds, originally joined the Patriots practice squad on Sept. 22, 2011 before being released on Oct. 25, 2011. He was re-signed to the practice squad on Oct. 28, 2011 and then released again on Nov. 4, 2011.
Williams, 23, was drafted by the Patriots in the seventh round (219th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Texas Christian University. Williams, 5-11, 200 pounds, was released by the Patriots on Aug. 29, 2011 and signed to the practice squad on Oct. 25, 2011. He was released from the practice squad on Oct. 28, 2011 and re-signed to the practice squad on Nov. 4, 2011.
