Danny Etling, Patriots Reportedly Agree on 4-Year Rookie Contract

The New England Patriots and former Purdue and LSU quarterback Danny Etling reportedly reached an agreement on a rookie contract Wednesday.

Per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Etling's deal will be for four years after the Patriots made him the first pick of the seventh round (No. 219 overall) in the 2018 NFL draft last month. 

Per Spotrac, the maximum value for Etling's deal is $2,488,895 with a signing bonus of $73,895. 

B/R's Matt Miller noted Etling is going to need a lot of development to become a contributor in the NFL. 

"Etling wasn't asked to sling the ball all over the field but struggled to push passes accurately and at times held the LSU offense back," Miller wrote. "He needs a decent amount of work."

Tom Brady said during an appearance at the Milken Institute Global Conference on April 30 he was returning for the 2018 season. He will turn 41 on Aug. 3 and became the oldest NFL MVP when he won the award last season after leading the league with 4,577 passing yards. 

The Patriots traded quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jimmy Garoppolo in separate deals last year. They brought back Brian Hoyer, who played with the team from 2009-11, after the San Francisco 49ers released him at the end of October. 

As long as Brady is playing, the Patriots don't have to worry about their immediate future at quarterback. 

Etling is a project for head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to work with behind the scenes. He was protective of the football as LSU's starting quarterback, throwing 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions (two in 2017) in 24 games over the past two seasons.