Patriots sign former Chicago safety Brandon McGowan, cut punter Tom Malone

Patriots sign safety Brandon McGowan

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots have signed safety Brandon McGowan, who became an unrestricted free agent after four seasons with the Chicago Bears.

McGowan missed most of the 2008 season with an ankle injury. He was signed by Chicago in 2005 as a rookie free agent out of Maine, and appeared in a total of 25 games with 13 starts for the Bears.

Also on Tuesday, the Patriots released punter Tom Malone, who had stints on the team’s practice squad in 2006 and 2008.