FOXBORO, Mass. – On December 21, 2014, the New England Patriots beat the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, with Jonas Gray scoring the deciding in the 17-16 victory.
Two days later, the Patriots’ new close end, Paul Quessenberry, played his last game as a marine contender, winning by the same margin over San Diego State at the 2014 Poinsettia Bowl.
He hasn’t played since.
Quessenberry, who signed with the Patriots Saturday, is looking for the NFL’s top performance. The 28-year-old has been out of football since scoring a failed rookie test with the Houston Texans in 2015, and spent the last four years as a Navy officer.
With this army involvement now over, Quessenberry will resume his football career. Oh, and he also changes positions, looking to enter the New England list as the main blocker after playing defensively at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Quessenberry made his Patriots practice debut on Sunday, dressed at number 48. The New England team values it at 6ft 2 inches and 250 pounds.
Why recruit a player who hadn’t put on a football helmet for a decade? Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a frank Marine fan, explained his video convention Monday morning.
“We’ll look at it and see where it is, ” said Belichick. “He hasn’t played football in a while. It has skills that can adapt to guys that look like him and who have played in that position – back/tight end/special groups – either (James) Develin or (Jakob Johnson) or players as well.
“So let’s see how it goes. I do not know. It had been a while, however, he had a very intelligent educational career, and you may see some things about him physically. But how all this brings this together and everything, I’m sure it will be some time before we get a smart review. But for now, we have an area on the list to take a look at it, so let’s see. I don’t know.’
Quessenberry, whose brothers David and Scott are offensive linemen for the Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers respectively, also won criticism of the Patriots’ long snapper and his colleague Joe Cardona.
“He in my elegance at the Academy, ” said Cardona on Sunday. “We were teammates for five years, returning to the (Naval Academy Preparatory School). I mean, you’re talking about a special guy who’s as hard as possible. And it means a lot to me to be able to focus on that spree and that my teammates here at the Patriots are putting it together too.
“I’ve been able to stay in touch with Paul for the last few years, of course. We’re very smart friends, so I knew I was looking for (the NFL). I’m so pleased with it and I’m so proud to call him a teammate again.”
The fullback Jakob Johnson will probably be Quessenberry’s most productive festival for a place on the Patriots roster. Teams will have to reduce their roster from 80 players to 53 until September 5, so Quessenberry will have less than two weeks to turn out to be belonging (although he may stay longer on the New England practice team).
“He’s running for a new position that didn’t really show up for the Navy,” Cardona said. “We were a triple-choice team in attack. But he played in the defensive finisher and was a very lively, life-filled guy who played on special teams. From my delight with him as a teammate, he is an amazing teammate and an amazing person. I’m so happy to have you here to paint with us. »
Belichick added: “It’s too early to assign anything. We’ll just take a look here after a few days and see how it goes. I’m sure he’s a wise kid, he’s internable, he’s got experience, but not a lot of football lately. Then I don’t know. We’ll see.”
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