Cornerback Jason Webster was back in the locker room on Wednesday after a hamstring injury sidelined him for most of training camp and contributed to his release on Aug. 26.
But with safety Rodney Harrison out for the season and two cornerbacks missing practice on Wednesday, the Patriots needed help. So they signed Webster -- who missed the last 15 games with Buffalo in 2007, his eighth season, after breaking his forearm in the opener.
The Patriots face the Bills on Sunday, eight months after Webster originally signed with New England as a free agent then couldn't compete for a job because of his hamstring problem.
"It was difficult because I wasn't able to do that," he said, "but there was nothing I could do about getting injured. I put it in the past. I went home and worked out and prepared for an opportunity like this."
That opportunity came after rookie cornerback Tyrone Wheatley hurt his wrist five minutes into the second quarter of Sunday night's 18-15 loss at Indianapolis and didn't return. Lewis Sanders missed his third straight game with a hamstring injury and neither practiced Wednesday.
And Ellis Hobbs was limited in the workout by a shoulder injury.
"We lost a lot of guys in the secondary," said cornerback Deltha O'Neal, who missed most of the previous game, a 23-16 win over St. Louis, after hurting his head in the first quarter. "We gained some depth by adding Jason. We're kind of struggling but we can make it.
"We're only as good as our second team, anyway," he added. "So if we can't get it done being a backup, then we're going to be in a world of trouble."
Patriots coach Bill Belichick sidestepped a question about whether Wheatley has a long-term injury.
"Well," he said, "we will see how that looks."
The Patriots will go against Buffalo's Trent Edwards, the AFC's fourth-rated quarterback, and Lee Evans, the conference leader among players with at least 20 receptions with 19.4 yards per catch.
As a rookie last year, Edwards "had confidence. He wasn't afraid to make a mistake," said Webster, who practiced against him before getting hurt. And "Lee's a good player. He works hard. He worked hard in practice and he catches the ball well and he can flat out fly."
Webster, 31, played at Texas A&M with current PatriotsTy Warren and Billy Yates and was a second-round draft choice by San Francisco in 2000. He started 10 games as a rookie and all 16 the next two seasons.
He signed as a free agent with Atlanta in March 2004 and started most of the games he played there for three seasons. Then he became a free agent again and joined the Bills in May 2007.
The Patriots needed help at cornerback this season after Asante Samuel and Randall Gay left as free agents. Webster participated in spring practices before getting hurt.
Now he's back, perhaps to provide some inside information and use his familiarity with the Bills offense.
"Generally, the personnel, the skill positions, receivers [are the same]," Webster said.
He also remembered most of the things he learned about the Patriots defense and may be in good enough condition to play Sunday.
The hamstring injury "was pretty much healed" when he was released, he said, "but I wasn't in, I guess, football form to be able to show what I could do."
He finally may do that on Sunday in his first game since he broke his forearm 14 months ago.
"Jason has a good understanding of our system. He was with us all the way through the spring and training camp," Belichick said. "So we will plug him in there and see how it goes."
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