Patriots work out Newton native Austin Burton at quarterback

FOXBORO -- The Patriots worked out five players on Monday, including a quarterback. This particular quarterback will be very familiar to New Englanders and WBZ-TV viewers.

Newton's own Austin Burton -- the son of WBZ-TV Sports Director Steve Burton --  was among the five players that the Patriots had in for a workout on Monday, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss. 

Burton was a star at Newton South High School from 2013-15, where he was a first-team all-state selection. He threw for 73 touchdown passes and racked up over 6,600 yards during his sophomore and junior campaigns, before transferring to West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Florida for his senior season. There, Burton threw 14 touchdown passes and totaled 2,317 passing yards. Overall, he threw for over 8,900 yards and 87 touchdowns during his high school career.

Burton committed to UCLA and played in six games for the Bruins as a sophomore in 2019 before transferring to Purdue. He backed up current Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell with the Boilermakers, and appeared in six games as a senior in 2022, completing 36 of his 56 passes for 273 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. 

Overall for his college career, Burton played in 19 games between UCLA and Purdue and completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 682 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also ran for 166 yards and a touchdown.

Burton already has several ties to the Patriots. Not only does his father, Steve, cover the team for WBZ-TV, but his grandfather, Ron Burton, was the first player ever drafted by the organization in 1960. The Boston Patriots drafted Ron Burton after his All-American career at Northwestern, and he was the first Patriots player to ever rush for 100 yards in a game.

The Patriots could use some more depth at quarterback given the struggles of Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe, and the team does have an open spot on its active roster and two spots available on the practice squad. New England released third-string QB Will Grier over the weekend, but also has quarterback/receiver Malik Cunningham on the practice squad.

In addition to Burton, the Patriots also worked out defensive back Cameron McCutcheon, and tight ends Michael Ezeike, La'Michael Pettway, and Christian Sims, according to Reiss.