More news

Report: Pats release O’Connell
08.30.09 at 4:09 pm ET
By Christopher Price 2 Comments

O'Connell was taken in the third round of the 2008 draft by the Patriots out of San Diego State.
The Patriots have informed backup quarterback Kevin O’Connell he has been released, according to multiple reports.
The second-year signal-caller out of San Diego State had played in two regular-season games with the Patriots, going 4-for-6 for 23 yards.
With the return of Tom Brady and the offseason trade of Matt Cassel to Kansas City, it was believed that O’Connell had the inside track on the backup quarterback job at the start of training camp. A third-round pick in the 2008 draft, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound O’Connell appeared to be solidly entrenched as the No. 2 throughout the spring practices.
But the 24-year-old has been tremendously underwhelming over the course of the preseason, going 12-for-26 for 108 yards and two interceptions for a quarterback rating of 25.8. (His best series came in the second preseason game against the Bengals — right before the end of the first half, he helped engineer a two-minute drive that got the Patriots within field-goal range.) On Friday night against Washington, he was 3-for-10 for 18 yards and two interceptions.
Barring a trade or the pickup of a veteran backup — something the Patriots have done in the past — it now appears that veteran Andrew Walter moves into the clear No. 2 position behind Brady. Walter was signed as a free agent by New England on Aug. 3. A 6-foot-6, 230-pounder, he spent the last four seasons with Oakland after joining the Raiders as a third-round pick out of Arizona State in 2005. Over the course of the 2009 preseason, Walter has gone 5-for-9 for 62 yards.
Earlier this month, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked about Walter’s progression within the New England system.
“Andrew gets a little bit better each day,” Belichick said. “[He’s] a talented kid, good arm, accurate with the ball, getting used to our offense.
“A lot of the things we do [are] a little bit different from what he did out in Oakland, but he’s had experience in the spread offense from Arizona State. So it’s not like he hasn’t done it before, but not as much recently. He’s coming along and working hard at it. I think he’s more comfortable in the huddle each day, so that’s good.”
In addition, the Patriots have rookie Brian Hoyer, who appears to be slotted at No. 3 on the depth chart for the moment. Hoyer, an undrafted free-agent out of Michigan State, has gone 11-for-19 for 112 yards this preseason.