Patriots Bring Back Corner For Second Practice Squad Stint

The New England Patriots are short on cornerback depth to end the season, but picked up an additional secondary piece Monday.

The Patriots reunited with cornerback William Hooper, signing the undrafted rookie out of Northwestern to the practice squad for the second time this season. Hooper first joined New England’s practice squad a few days after the season opener but the Patriots cut him two weeks later.

Hooper, who spent training camp with the Green Bay Packers, also had a stint with the Cardinals practice squad, signing with Arizona in late November. Hooper didn’t last much longer there with Arizona releasing the 23-year-old last week.

The undersized corner at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds did not see any game action with the Patriots or Cardinals and has yet to play in an NFL game.

Hooper made 33 collegiate starts at Northwestern State, where he made 100 tackles and recorded three interceptions with 21 passes defended in his career.

The Patriots are extremely thin at the cornerback position entering the final three games of the season. Christian Gonzalez and Marcus Jones are on injured reserve and the Patriots placed J.C. Jackson on the reserve/non-football illness list on Tuesday.

That just leaves New England with Jonathan Jones, Myles Bryant, Shaun Wade, who was inactive in the loss Sunday against the Chiefs, and recently signed Alex Austin as the team’s corners. Austin received his first NFL start against Kansas City and committed two penalties while playing 100% of the defensive snaps. The Patriots could also turn to Jalen Mills at corner despite moving him to safety this season.

Signing Hooper was part of a busy Tuesday for the Patriots. They also inked running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn to the practice squad and signed running back Kevin Harris to the 53-man roster.