Salas part of McDaniels' pipeline

Greg Salas was acquired from the St. Louis Rams on Saturday for an undisclosed future draft pick. Salas was taken by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2011 draft out of Hawaii and played in six games for the Rams last season, finishing with 27 receptions for 269 yards before a leg injury ended his season. McDaniels was the team's offensive coordinator last season before rejoining the Patriots for the playoffs.

The trade followed the release of veterans Donte' Stallworth, Jabar Gaffney and Deion Branch, although the Patriots might bring back Branch after the first game.

Salas joins veterans Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, Julian Edelman and Matthew Slater.

"I play hard and I'm here to do anything the team asks me to do," Salas said.

He has played both in the slot and wide, giving the Patriots depth behind Welker and Lloyd, respectively.

Salas was asked about the challenge of joining a team one week before the first game after spending the entire training camp elsewhere.

"Just refreshing myself with the material and concentrating on everything about the team," Salas said.

"He's got some versatility and we'll put him out there and see how it goes," coach Bill Belichick said.

Belichick said Salas was productive both in college and with the Rams until his injury, and that McDaniels' firsthand experience with him also played a role in the deal.

"We had a good feel for him before Josh was here just based on our scouting department and working him out and getting ready for the draft and all that," he said. "Of course Josh spent some time with him so that was some additional input."