New England Patriots bring in former Navy player Paul Quessenberry for tryout

The connections between the Naval Academy and the New England Patriots just keep growing.

On Thursday, the team coached and managed by Bill Belichick — whose father Steve coached at Navy for 33 years — brought in former Mids’ defensive end Paul Quessenberry for a tryout. Quessenberry remained in camp on Friday.

And while Quessenberry racked up 8.5 tackles-for-loss in his senior season in Annapolis, the Pats are looking at him as a tight end, according to a workout list tweeted out by Albert Breer of MMQB.

Quessenberry hasn’t played competitive football since his days at Navy. He graduated from the academy in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in general science. He then became an infantry officer in the marines.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 251 pounds during his playing days, Quessenberry featured in 22 games for the Mids in 2013 and 2014, tallying 63 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, two pass breakups, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble. He was an anchor on the defensive line for Navy’s 2014 squad, which finished 8-5 — a record that included a win over Army and a bowl victory over San Diego State. Before joining the marines, he had a tryout with the Texans.

Quessenberry’s brothers both play in the NFL as offensive linemen; Scott for the LA Chargers and David for the Tennessee Titans.

According to SB Nation’s “Pats Pulpit”, the Pats have a need for depth at tight end and have two open spots on their 80-man training camp squad. New England did sign Paul Butler and Delmar, Delaware native Alex Ellis earlier this week.

If the Pats end up signing Quessenberry, he’ll be reunited with his Navy classmate, Joe Cardona, who has turned into one of the NFL’s top long snappers since being drafted in 2015.