After some in-depth analysis, pair activated

Both players started practicing Tuesday, the first day they were eligible to do so after sitting out the first six weeks of the season on the non-football injury list and physically unable to perform list, respectively.

The Patriots had two roster spots open after releasing receiver Joey Galloway and tight end Michael Matthews Tuesday.

Tate, a third-round pick, was put on the non-football injury list to start the season as he recovered from torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee suffered last October during his senior season at North Carolina.

With Julian Edelman out with a serious forearm injury, Tate gives the Patriots a fourth wide receiver/returner if he is on the 45-man active roster for the game, as expected.

LeVoir was put on the PUP list with a shoulder injury. He played in all 16 games last season after being claimed off waivers from the Rams Sept. 1, 2008. He made two starts at right tackle in place of an injured Nick Kaczur.

LeVoir, if active for the game, would give the Patriots a third offensive tackle behind rookie Sebastian Vollmer and Kaczur. The Patriots are without starting left tackle Matt Light for a second straight game because of a right knee injury.

The Patriots released Galloway after he had been inactive for three straight games. His brief Patriots career ended with a total of seven catches for 67 yards, with no touchdowns and no trip to London.

Before joining the Patriots, Galloway spent the previous five seasons in Tampa and led the Bucs in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns each season from 2005-07, posting three straight 1,000-yard seasons.

An injury-plagued 2008 season limited him to 13 catches for 138 yards and zero touchdowns, and the Buccaneers released him in February. Still, his former Tampa teammates expressed surprise that things didn’t work out for the 37-year receiver with New England.

“Joey is kind of immortal,’’ said Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber. “It seems like he never slows down. He just finds a way to survive.

“I was actually shocked. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him since they let him go. I don’t know what was going on in their locker room or in their personnel decision-making room, but he’s not there. I was kind of looking forward to playing against him to be honest with you.’’

Tampa Bay running back Cadillac Williams was even more surprised than Barber about Galloway, who had a career-high 1,287 receiving yards for the Bucs during Williams’s rookie season of 2005.

“Oh yeah, man, I was,’’ said Williams. “I actually talked to the guy back and forth. We texted in the last week or so. When I heard, I was like, ‘Wow.’ I was kind of surprised because that guy still has a lot of good years in him. He’s a heck of a football player. For whatever reason it just didn’t work out.’’

Barber said Moss hasn’t changed much.

“He sure doesn’t seem like it,’’ said Barber. “I always thought of him as just the deep-threat guy and they’re finding different ways to get him the ball. He’s actually running hitches now. He has added to his repertoire.

“He still is dangerous. He still is a vertical threat. When they need a big play down the field, that’s their guy - not that Wes [Welker] doesn’t have that ability, but it’s definitely Randy’s job to get over the top of defenses.’’

Barber may have tipped Tampa Bay’s plans for Moss, hinting that fellow cornerback Aqib Talib was going to shadow him.

“We got our job cut out for us, and Aqib is going to have his hands full all day,’’ said Barber.

Wesley, who drew a one-game suspension for the hit, played briefly for the Patriots. They cut him near the start of the 2008 season.

Morris said the club will be careful with Smith, who received a phone call from an apologetic Wesley.

“You care about the safety of your players,’’ Morris said. “We’ll take our time with Clifton. I won’t put him back on the field until he’s ready, and our doctors say he’s ready.’’

Dan Shaughnessy and Albert R. Breer of the Globe staff contributed to this report.