Patriots Fill Final Practice Squad Spot By Signing Cornerback

The New England Patriots now have a full practice squad after making a couple additions Wednesday.

The Patriots not only signed former Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints quarterback Ian Book, who played in college against Mac Jones, but also added little-known cornerback William Hooper. Hooper is the 16th member of the team’s practice squad.

Hooper, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Northwestern State, spent the summer with the Green Bay Packers, which offered the Patriots a glimpse of him when the two sides held joint practices and a preseason game in August.

The 23-year-old recorded just one tackle in the exhibition matchup against the Patriots. He had his best showing in the preseason the week before against the Cincinnati Bengals when he registered one tackle and three passes defended.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound corner made 33 starts during his collegiate career with the Demons, making 100 tackles while also coming up with three interceptions and 21 passes defended. He was named to the Southland All-Conference Second Team Defense as a senior.

The Patriots aren’t in dire need of help at cornerback going into their Week 2 matchup against the Miami Dolphins — no one at the position was on Wednesday’s injury report — but it’s a good spot to have depth at with Jack Jones and Isaiah Bolden on injured reserve.