The Patriots are down another veteran wide receiver.

Eric Decker announced his retirement Sunday on his Instagram page, further depleting the Patriots’ depth chart at wide receiver. The 31-year-old signed with the Patriots on Aug. 2, but it became clear that his path to the 53-man roster was an uphill climb.

A veteran of nine seasons, Decker got his start in Denver with then-head coach Josh McDaniels. After playing for the Broncos, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, the 6-foot-3 receiver signed with the Patriots this summer.

The Patriots have already released injured receivers Malcolm Mitchell, Jordan Matthews and Kenny Britt. On top of that, Julian Edelman will be suspended for the first four games. The Patriots brought in Decker with the hope that his familiarity with McDaniels’ offensive system would make him a quick study, but it didn’t turn out that way.

Decker struggled with drops in practice. He also dropped the first pass that came his way in the preseason against Philadelphia. This past week, Decker caught two passes for 12 yards, but both were from backup Brian Hoyer. Meanwhile, Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, Cordarrelle Patterson and Riley McCarron were all playing with Brady.

Hogan, Dorsett and Patterson appear to be locks to make the 53-man roster. The Patriots also have Braxton Berrios, Devin Lucien and Paul Turner on the roster.

BRONCOS: Adam “Pacman” Jones is reuniting with Vance Joseph, who was his Cincinnati’s secondary coach during the veteran cornerback’s best seasons in the NFL.

Jones signed a one-year deal after visiting the team on Sunday. To make room, the Broncos waived inside linebacker Bo Bower.

The sixth overall pick of the 2005 draft, Jones had been out of the NFL since March, when the Cincinnati Bengals declined to pick up his $5.5 million contract option.

Jones spent his past eight seasons in Cincinnati, but his 2017 season was cut short by a groin injury.

TRADES: The Minnesota Vikings, who are running out of time before the regular season begins for rehabilitating center Pat Elflein to return, took a step toward protecting themselves by acquiring center Brett Jones in a trade with the New York Giants for a draft pick.

The Vikings didn’t disclose which pick they’re sending to the Giants, but NFL Media reported it’s a seventh-round choice in 2019.

The trade was made hours after Coach Mike Zimmer said Elflein would not be ready to practice with the team this week, with the second-year starter still working his way back from offseason surgeries on his ankle and shoulder.

Cornelius Edison has taken Elflein’s place with the first-team offense. Nick Easton took the spot when camp began, but he was diagnosed with a herniated disk in his neck and scheduled for season-ending surgery. That injury hit doubly hard, because Easton was in line to start at left guard for a second straight year.

• The Indianapolis Colts traded inside linebacker Antonio Morrison to the Green Bay Packers for cornerback Lenzy Pipkins, giving each veteran a chance to impress their new coaches in the final preseason game.

Green Bay already was thin at inside linebacker after incumbent starter Jake Ryan suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during training camp. The Packers suffered another blow when Ryan’s replacement, rookie Oren Burks, hurt his shoulder during Friday’s pregame warmups and missed the game against Oakland.

The 6-foot-1, 241-pound Morrison played in 31 games with the Colts and finished among the league’s top 20 in tackles in 2017, leading the Colts with 109.

But Morrison started sliding down the Colts’ depth chart after new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus switched from a 3-4 defensive front to a 4-3. In contrast, Green Bay will continue to use a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.

COLTS: Denzelle Good’s knee injury could complicate the team’s decision at right tackle.

Coach Frank Reich says the fourth-year player who finished last season and opened training camp as the starter will not play Thursday at Cincinnati and could miss several additional weeks.

With Good out, the competition between rookie Braden Smith and veterans Austin Howard, J’Marcus Webb and Le’Raven Clark is expected to get sorted out after the Bengals game.

TITANS: Wide receiver Rishard Matthews passed his physical and was removed from the physically unable to perform list.

Matthews missed all of the team’s offseason program and most of the preseason because of knee surgery. He has led the Titans with 1,740 yards receiving and 13 touchdown catches over the past two seasons.

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