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Donte' Stallworth on Patriots' IR; Deion Branch signs

The revolving door at wide receiver for the New England Patriots continues to turn.

The Patriots placed Donte' Stallworth on injured reserve Tuesday after he suffered a high ankle sprain on his 63-yard touchdown reception against the Houston Texans on Monday night. The Patriotssigned Deion Branch on Tuesday to replace Stallworth.

It wraps up a wild couple of weeks for Stallworth. He attended the Patriots' game against the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago -- as a fan. After wide receiver Julian Edelman's season-ending foot injury, the Patriots signed Stallworth and immediately gave him snaps against the Texans.

Stallworth responded well and could have been a great story for the team down the stretch, but Breer reports Stallworth will be out for the rest of the season. With Rob Gronkowski also hurt, the Patriots are short on weapons.

Branch has been off and on the roster all season. If he goes down, the team might have to get Troy Brown out of retirement.

Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.