FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots signed long snapper Sean McDermott today, while placing long snapper Lonie Paxton on injured reserve. The Patriots also shuffled their practice squad, signing punter Travis Dorsch to the practice squad and releasing offensive lineman Jamil Soriano from the practice squad.

McDermott, 27, is in his third NFL season and has played in 37 games, including the first five contests of 2003 with the Miami Dolphins. The 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound native of Lufkin, Texas, spent the 2002 season with the Houston Texans, where he played in all 16 games and snapped for every punt, field goal and PAT. In his rookie season in 2001, the Kansas University product handled all of the long snapping duties for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McDermott was originally signed by the Buccaneers as a rookie free agent on June 4, 2001. He was picked by the Texans in the expansion draft on Feb. 18, 2002 and was released by Houston on June 18, 2003. He was signed by the Dolphins on Aug. 10, 2003 and played in the first five games of the season before being waived on Oct. 14. He will wear number 49 for New England.

Paxton, 25, had snapped on every punt, extra point and field goal attempt for the Patriots since the beginning of the 2000 season. The 6-foot-2-inch, 260-pound native of Orange, Calif., is in his fourth season after being signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent on April 19, 2000.

Dorsch, 24, spent his rookie season in 2002 as the backup placekicker and punter for the Cincinnati Bengals. The 6-foot-6-inch, 221-pound native of Bozeman, Mont., was drafted by the Bengals in the fourth round (109th overall) of the 2002 NFL draft. He played in one game and was inactive for 15 contests as a rookie after serving four seasons as the punter and placekicker for the Purdue Boilermakers. At Purdue, he became the Big 10 career leader in points (355) and field goals (68), while earning All-America honors as a punter and placekicker as a senior. He was released by Cincinnati in the final roster cutdown on Aug. 31, 2003.

Soriano, 22, was acquired by the Patriots in a trade with the Chicago Bears on Aug. 26, 2003. The 6-foot-4-inch, 310-pound Harvard University product was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as a rookie free agent on May 2, 2003. He was released by Green Bay on July 29 and signed by the Bears on Aug. 7. He was released by the Patriots on Aug. 31, 2003 and signed to the practice squad the next day.