Michael Matthews News

The Patriots activated rookie wide receiver Brandon Tate and right tackle Mark LeVoir , adding them to the 53-man roster and making them eligible for today's game against the Buccaneers, according to a league source.

Brandon Meriweather reacted to the news that he had been named the AFC's Defensive Player of the Week with what amounted to a shrug.

The NFL trading deadline came and went yesterday without any fanfare at Gillette Stadium, where there was no Shawne Merriman , no Deion Branch, and no other names added to the roster.

On the first day they are eligible to come off their respective reserve lists, wide receiver Brandon Tate and offensive lineman Mark LeVoir participated in the Patriots [ team stats ] ' walkthrough yesterday.

The Patriots have released four players today, including WR Joey Galloway, LB's Eric Alexander and Tully Banta-Cain and TE Michael Matthews.

WR Brandon Tate has spent the last year rehabbing a knee injury, and for six months he has done nothing else but rehab and study the Patriots' playbook.

The agent for tight end Michael Matthews, who was released by the Patriots today, said that the release of Matthews was not presented to him as strictly a procedural matter with an eye towards bringing the released player back, which appears to be the case with both linebackers Eric Alexander and Tully Banta-Cain, who were on one-year, $620,000 ...

Young and old, the Patriots [ team stats ] are losing candidates to be their third receiver.

A member of the San Diego Chargers' game-day staff died 12 hours after falling out of the press box before the Denver Broncos played the San Diego Chargers on Monday night.

The New England Patriots have released wide receiver Joey Galloway . The Pats thought the veteran Galloway, who turns 38 next month, could be their third wide receiver, but he had just seven catches for 67 yards and was inactive for the last three games.

As it turns out, Tippett has lost his mind, too. He also plans on coming out of retirement.

A failure to execute on critical plays plagued the Patriots throughout their 20-17 overtime loss to Denver.

When your offense not only fails to score in the final 30 minutes but fails to convert a single third down it is obviously a dreadful day, and so there is responsibility to be accepted for what went on.

In a photo from last season, the Giants' Michael Matthews, left, Brandon Jacobs, and Derrick Ward celebrate a Jacobs touchdown against the 49ers.

Now that he's had time to digest the trade that sent him from the Giants to the Patriots [ team stats ] , Michael Matthews has thought about some of the changes that will accompany the move.

Yesterday, Tyree's get-out-of-cuts-free card, which was stamped when he made his miraculous catch in Super Bowl XLII, officially expired after six years with the Giants .

The Patriots released TE Alex Smith , just months after trading a fifth-round draft pick to the Buccaneers for his services.

First of all, we need to criticize the Globe for their game story, which reads like a prewritten obituary for Tim Wakefield.

Former Buccaneers tight end Alex Smith , who was cut by the Patriots Saturday, is reportedly visiting the Giants.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut kicker Matt Bryant and settled on entering the regular season with four quarterbacks Saturday.