He's back.

Deion Branch is officially a New England Patriot once again.

The team announced the signing one day after placing wide receiver Donte' Stallworth on season-ending injured reserve with an ankle injury.

Branch has been on and off the Patriots' 53-man roster throughout the 2012 season but his locker has always remained intact. No. 84 was released by the Patriots prior to the start of the regular season on Aug. 31 but re-signed on Sept. 19. He was released again on Nov. 17 before returning to the team Wednesday.

Branch has played in seven games with three starts and caught nine passes for 80 yards in 2012. The 33-year-old receiver was originally selected by the Patriots in the second round (65th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft out of Louisville. He was traded by the Patriots to the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 11, 2006, and then reacquired through a trade with Seattle on Oct. 12, 2010. Branch has played in 137 games with 110 starts and accumulated 511 receptions for 6,579 yards and 39 touchdowns. He has played in 15 postseason games with 13 starts and has 62 receptions for 932 yards and four touchdowns. His 24 receptions in three Super Bowls are third all time to the 33 by Jerry Rice (four Super Bowls) and the 27 by Andre Reed (four Super Bowls).

In addition to the signing of Branch, the Patriots signed rookie WR Tony Logan to the practice squad.

Logan served as a reserve wide receiver and the primary punt returner in college at Maryland for three seasons. As a senior in 2011, he played in 11 games as a punt returner, kickoff returner and wide receiver and returned 16 punts for 96 yards and 15 kicks for 316 yards. He led the ACC and ranked third nationally with an average of 18.1 yards per punt return in 2010.