FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots signed defensive back Brandon King from the practice squad Saturday and released veteran defensive back Bradley Fletcher.
The 22-year-old King signed as a rookie free agent out of Auburn in May. He released Sept. 5 and signed to the practice squad Sept. 7.
The 29-year-old Fletcher signed as an unrestricted free agent from Philadelphia in March. He played in two of the Patriots' first three games, making 10 tackles and forcing a fumble. He has played 73 games, making 54 starts, in seven seasons with St. Louis, Philadelphia and New England.
New England is at Dallas on Sunday.
Steelers: Shazier out vs. Chargers
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier's injured right shoulder will force him to miss a third straight game.
The Steelers ruled Shazier out for Monday night's trip to San Diego after Shazier didn't practice on Saturday. Shazier had practiced earlier in the week and was hopeful to return against the Chargers (2-2). He injured the shoulder in a Week 2 win against San Francisco, a game in which Shazier had a team-high 15 tackles with a sack and a fumble recovery.
Shazier has now missed 10 of 21 games since the Steelers took him in the first round of the 2014 draft. Sean Spence will start in his place against San Diego.
NFL
Cornerback Cortez Allen (knee) is questions for Pittsburgh (2-2).
Broncos: Veteran FB James Casey released
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos' release of veteran fullback James Casey says plenty about how they've skewed the offense more toward Peyton Manning's strengths and away from coach Gary Kubiak's trademark running style.
The 31-year-old Casey played for Kubiak in Houston from 2009-12 and was signed in Denver to be a big part of the zone-blocking scheme.
However, the unbeaten Broncos have put Manning more in the shotgun and pistol formations the last two games.
Casey played just 20 snaps on offense before his release Saturday to make room for defensive end Derek Wolfe, who is returning from a four-game drug suspension and is expected to start Sunday at Oakland (2-2).
Casey is due the remaining $750,000 of his salary.