Friday's move came after Simmons was inactive for six of his seven games with the team. He played only on special teams on Oct. 18 in a 59-0 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Simmons, 30, signed with the Patriots on Sept. 6 after being waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers. They chose him with the 30th pick of the first round in 2002 out of Auburn and he started all 80 games in which he played during seven seasons with Pittsburgh. He missed the entire 2004 season with a right knee injury and was limited to four games last year by a right Achilles' tendon injury.