The Patriots have dug deep in their scouting.
Sebastian Gutierrez, a 24-year-old offensive lineman, was working at a pizza restaurant in North Dakota earlier this week. Now he is signed to New England’s practice squad.
Gutierrez played college football at Minot State in North Dakota. He signed with the Denver Broncos in May as an undrafted free agent, but the team waived him this past August.
He was working at Uncle Maddio’s Pizza in Minot while he continued to train for his opportunity.
“Well never thought in a million years I would have a NFL player working for me!” Losson Leonard, the owner of Uncle Maddio’s, wrote in an ebullient Facebook post.
Leonard recalled how Gutierrez stood out.
“I saw him behind the line making pizzas and I just, I thought my manager Denise must have hired someone to head off security, I guess,” he told KYFR, a Fox affiliate in North Dakota. “He’s like, you’re my favorite pizza place, so might as well get a job here so that’s what happened. My manager Denise gave him a job, and he worked for us two, three days a week whenever he could when he’s not training,.”
Leonard was fast to praise his work ethic and attitude.
“I think he’s a great young man and I wish him the best. I think he’ll do well. I think once they let him in the door, he’ll never come out, I think he’ll have a great career in the NFL,” Leonard told the outlet.
Bill Belichick and the Patriots are off to a shaky start at 1-3 and currently have +370 betting odds to make the playoffs on FanDuel. The schedule does open up a little for them from here — in their next five weeks before their bye, they play the Lions, Bears, Browns, Jets and Colts, before hosting the Jets right off their bye.