A player who has not played in a football match of any kind for five and a half years qualified for the New England Patriots on Thursday.
Paul Quessenberry graduated from the United States Naval Academy and played his last game with the Midshipmans in 2014. He had a rookie trial with the Houston Texans in 2015, and then was a Marine officer.
Five years later, Quessenberry has completed his duty of service and will resume his football career. A defensive end in the Navy has since changed position to closed wings, according to the NFL checklist shared through MMQB’s Albert Breer.
That Quessenberry, whose older and younger brothers (David and Scott) are OFFENSIVE NFL linemen, can even get a check out of the NFL after a decade out of the game that is remarkable in itself. But it’s no wonder the Patriots were the team that brought him in.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick spent his training years in Annapolis as the son of a former Marine coach and explorer, and his academy worship is documented. In 2015, he made Joe Cardona, a former Quessenberry school teammate, the navy’s top drafted product since 1986 (fifth round, 166 overall) and the time when the longest snapper of all time was selected.
“When your father trains in the Navy, it’s a big component of your life,” Belichick said in 2018. “The game (Army-Marine) is a great component of everyone’s life in those two academies, and goes much further You know in May how many days you have before playing Army.
The Patriots signed the close-winged Paul Burton and Alex Ellis before this week to sign for Ryan Izzo, the 2020 third-round picks Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene, and rookie undrafted Jake Burt. This organization has a collective total of 17 regular season games in the NFL.
New England also hosted former Kansas City Chiefs defensive player about Xavier Williams for a test, as ESPN’s Mike Reiss first reported wednesday.