FOXBOROUGH, Mass. _ The Danny Etling experiment as ended _ at least for now.
According to a source, the Patriots waived Etling on Tuesday in order to make room on the 90-man roster for tight end Eric Saubert, who was acquired in a deal with Atlanta. This news comes after Etling was attempting to transition from quarterback to wide receiver.
Etling, the Patriots' seventh-round pick in 2018, played only two snaps in the team's preseason opener in Detroit. In practice, he often looked overmatched at the new position. On Monday, for example, three passes thrown to Etling were intercepted, including one that bounced off his hands.
Etling still played some quarterback in practice. He'd often run the scout team in non-competitive drills against the starting defense. In full-team drills and individual drills, however, he was exclusively lining up at receiver. After practice, Etling would typically get more quarterback work in.
Last summer, Etling completed 52.6% of his passes in three preseason games. He threw for 157 yards to go with a touchdown and two interceptions. His best performance of the summer was when he ran for 113 yards and a score against the New York Giants in the preseason finale. The Patriots cut Etling and placed him on the team's practice squad for the season.
