The Patriots added some depth Wednesday, signing former Cardinals tight end Troy Niklas and offensive lineman Luke Bowanko.
Niklas signed a one-year deal after visiting the Patriots Monday.
Niklas, 25, was a second-round pick of the Cardinals in 2014. Injuries limited him to 41 games over the last four seasons.
The 6-foot-6-inch, 269-pound Notre Dame product is primarily a blocking tight end, but he set career highs last season with 11 catches and 132 receiving yards to go along with a touchdown in 15 games.
He joins Dwayne Allen, Jacob Hollister, and Will Tye in the competition to back up Rob Gronkowski. Niklas will need a new number, though; he wore No. 87 with the Cardinals.
ESPN reported Bowanko’s signing, but didn’t state terms.
Bowanko, 26, has appeared in 40 games at guard and center since entering the NFL as a sixth-round pick out of Virginia in 2014. He spent his first three seasons with the Jaguars, starting 14 games as a rookie, and spent last season with the Ravens.
Edelman took action
Less than two weeks after Danny Amendola left the Patriots for the Dolphins, Julian Edelman shared an Instagram picture of himself and his former teammate hanging out at a bar in Austin, Texas.
Then he received a direct message: “Dude, there is a kid in your comment section says he’s going to shoot up a school, i think you should alert the authority.’’
Edelman told Ken Belson of the New York Times he immediately thought of the 17 lives lost in the mass school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and took action.
“With the emotions of what happened, and I have a kid now, I said, ‘Holy Toledo, what is going on?’ ’’ Edelman told Belson.
Edelman contacted his assistant, Shannen Moen, who was able to track down the comment in question on his Instagram post.
Moen called 911 — and the authorities took it from there. Police and detectives were able to locate the sender in Port Huron, Mich. Upon arriving at the address, they discovered the perpetrator, a 14-year-old boy, as well as two rifles Belson reported belonged to the boy’s mother.
“Any time someone makes a threat to shoot up a school or building, we take it very seriously,’’ Port Huron Police captain Joseph Platzer told Belson.
Platzer said the threat was directed at the boy’s middle school. The boy remains in a juvenile detention center and has had one court hearing.
Both Edelman and Moen expressed gratitude for the person who warned them of the threat.
“He’s the real hero,’’ Edelman told Belson.
Nicole Yang of the Boston.com staff contributed to this report.
