Testaverde, 43, joins Patriots as a backup

Vinny Testaverde, who came out of retirement last season to help out the New York Jets, was signed Tuesday by New England.

The move came after the Patriots lost two straight games for the first time since 2002 as Tom Brady played two of his poorest games. Until signing Testaverde, New England had only one other quarterback on its roster, second-year pro Matt Cassel from USC.

Testaverde, who turned 43 Monday, was the first overall pick by Tampa Bay in the 1987 draft. He has played 19 NFL seasons and has 269 touchdown passes, eighth in NFL history, and is sixth with 45,252 yards passing.

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The Tennessee Titans are requiring Albert Haynesworth to continue the anger management counseling he started during a five-game NFL suspension for stomping the face of a Dallas opponent.

Haynesworth worked out at the team’s headquarters Monday, the first day he was eligible to return. But the Titans had a few more questions they wanted to review before letting Haynesworth rejoin the team at practice today.

They finally satisfied themselves and held a news conference Tuesday afternoon detailing what Coach Jeff Fisher called one of the most difficult situations the team has faced since he became coach in November 1994.

“We believe ... that Albert is prepared to put this incident behind him, move forward and play this game with the respect and the integrity with which it was designed to be played with,” Fisher said.

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More than two months after he was knocked unconscious in Kansas City’s season opener, quarterback Trent Green was given medical clearance to play again.

Whether he or Damon Huard will start on Sunday against Oakland remains unclear. Coach Herm Edwards said earlier in the day that whatever decision he made would remain a secret until game time.

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Houston Texans offensive lineman Fred Weary was shot with a Taser before being arrested Tuesday after a traffic stop.

Weary was pulled over at 1 p.m. about six miles from Reliant Stadium and taken to jail. Houston Police Officer Gabriel Ortiz said he “possibly faces charges of resisting arrest.”

The 29-year-old was being held at Houston’s Central Jail on Tuesday evening but had not been charged with a crime and no bond had been set, a jail official said.

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The Patriots have begun installing a synthetic field surface to be used in time for their next home game Nov. 26 against Chicago.

Heavy equipment scraped the grass and leveled the dirt beneath it in preparation for the installation of FieldTurf, which has become increasingly popular around the NFL. Gillette Stadium has had natural grass since it opened in 2002.

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The Carolina Panthers’ 24-10 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the least-watched Monday night NFL telecast, falling below last week’s numbers -- the previous low for “Monday Night Football.”

The game was viewed in 7,315,000 households, ESPN said. The previous low was 7,587,000 households for the Seattle Seahawks’ 16-0 victory over the Oakland Raiders last week, according to Nielsen Media Research.

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The injury-plagued Atlanta Falcons signed safety Lance Schulters and cornerback Derrick Johnson.