The New England Patriots' beleaguered secondary took another hit Saturday when the team had to place safety Brandon McGowan on season-ending injured reserve.
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But help is on the way.
The Patriots acquired veteran safety Jarrad Page from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for an undisclosed draft selection. Page missed all of the Chiefs' training camp because of a contract dispute, but he signed his restricted free-agent tender Friday.
McGowan, who started 11 games last season, has a chest injury. Earlier in the week, New England lost starting cornerback Leigh Bodden for the season because of a shoulder injury.
The Patriots released 20 players, including outside linebacker Derrick Burgess and special-teams captain Sam Aiken, to reach the NFL-mandated limit of 53 players. They also acquired veteran linebacker Tracy White from the Philadelphia Eagles for an undisclosed 2012 draft pick.
Burgess, who didn't practice until Aug. 15, started six of 16 games last season and had five sacks. He has 52 sacks in his career, starting with three seasons with the Eagles and four with the Oakland Raiders.
There had been speculation that Burgess, who signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Patriots in May, might retire, but he didn't mention that after his first practice this summer.
"I had to take care of my family business before I could report," Burgess said, but he admitted he was "a little rusty" in his first practice with the team.
Aiken spent the past two seasons with New England after five with the Buffalo Bills. He had a career-high 20 receptions last season, giving him 47.
McGowan matched his career high with 50 tackles in his only season with the Patriots. He spent his other four with the Chicago Bears.
The Patriots released two other veteran defensive players, linebackers Eric Alexander, primarily a special-teamer during his six years with New England, and Pierre Woods, who started eight games in four seasons with the team.
Also released were quarterback Zac Robinson; running backs Thomas Clayton and Chris Taylor; wide receivers Buddy Farnham, Darnell Jenkins and Rod Owens; tight ends Carson Butler and Rob Myers; offensive linemen George Bussey, Ted Larsen, Rich Ohrnberger and Thomas Welch; linebacker Thomas Williams; safety Sergio Brown; cornerback DeAngelo Willingham and defensive back Ross Ventrone.
Some of those players could end up on the Patriots' practice squad.
Among those released were five players taken in the past two drafts -- 2009 picks Ohrnberger (fourth round) and Bussey (fifth) and 2010 choices Larsen (sixth), Welch (seventh) and Robinson (seventh).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
