NFL Rumors: Patriots Considering Sean Renfree as Jimmy Garoppolo’s Replacement?

Sep 21, 2016 09:05 AM EDT

Right now, the New England Patriots are running out of options at the quarterback spot due to the recent injury suffered by Jimmy Garoppolo. This is probably the reason why the team reportedly entertained a number of players recently, including Sean Renfree.

Following Garoppolo's injury, the Patriots have turned to backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett as they enter Week 3 of the NFL season. Backing up Brissett will be wide receiver Julian Edelman, who was recently named as the emergency quarterback.

This puts the Patriots at a very tight spot especially since Tom Brady still has two more games to go before his suspension ends. One option that the team has is to recruit a new quarterback, possibly from the free agency pool.

Earlier this week, this is exactly what the team tried to do by working out with Renfree, a former backup QB for the Atlanta Falcons.

Renfree is still a rookie in the league. He first joined the NFL after he was drafted during the seventh round in 2013 by the Falcons. He was released by the team last month after the Falcons signed Matt Schaub as the backup to Matt Ryan.

After his release from the team, Falcons coach Dan Quinn praised Renfree for his qualities as a football players.

"One of the toughest guys I've seen around," he said. "Mentally tough, physically though. WWhen you have that much respect for a guy, even for me over a short time, he earned that respect from me, kind of the gritty way he approaches it... He'll always have a fan in me, that's for sure."

Now that he's a free agent, the Patriots could consider giving him a shot at the quarterback post. But, it's probably not advisable to name him as a temporary starter given his lack of experience. Still though, he can serve as a third-string QB or as a backup to Brissett. That way, the Patriots will still have some form of depth to its QB bench just in case another injury hits the team during the next couple of games.