The Patriots officially placed Andre Carter on injured reserve Tuesday, ending his season. Carter suffered a leg injury during the first quarter of the Patriots' 41-23 win over the Broncos on Sunday.
Defensive end Cedric McKinley has been signed to the practice squad. McKinley went through a workout for the Patriots last week.
Carter had started each of the Patriots first 14 games this season and led the team with 10 sacks.
McKinley was originally signed by the Minnesota Vikings as a rookie free agent out of Minnesota in the spring of 2010, but he was released prior to the start of training camp. He was re-signed by the Vikings last summer and spent part of this season on the Vikings practice squad.