Danny Etling didn’t make the Patriots’ 53-man roster, but that doesn’t mean the team is giving up on him. The rookie quarterback, who New England took in the seventh round of this year’s draft, was signed to the practice squad after cutdown day and has been staying very involved. Etling has been on the sidelines during games this year even though it’s “unusual for practice-squad players” to be on the sidelines, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.
Reiss thinks “the club taking a similar approach with him as it did with Jacoby Brissett in 2016 when Brissett was on injured reserve”, and that “the hope is that it helps his growth as a player by allowing him to be part of the game-management process.” It sounds like the Patriots still believe that Etling could develop into something worth keeping some day, and he’ll almost surely be signed to a reserve/futures contract this Winter.
Here’s more from Foxborough:
- Stephon Gilmore signed a massive deal with the Pats two offseasons ago, but he was almost a Chicago Bear. Speaking ahead of the team’s game with the Bears earlier this week, Gilmore revealed he had narrowed it down the the Bears and the Patriots before ultimately choosing New England, Reiss reports.
- The Patriots are being “characteristically tight lipped” regarding Sony Michel‘s injury, but the rookie sensation running back will undergo an MRI tomorrow, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk (Twitter link). Michel’s injury looked scary at first, and it’s possible he’s dealing with something significant that could cause him to miss a lot of time. If that’s the case expect the Patriots, who are already incredibly thin in the backfield, look for more outside veteran help.
- In case you missed it, the Patriots expect tight end Rob Gronkowski to return next week against the Bills on Monday Night Football. Gronkowski missed the game against the Bears after his back flared up in practice.
Remember when they had six running backs? Crazy.