Patriots legend lighting up the AAF

If you are a diehard New England Patriots fan who follows every single offseason transaction they make, then you might know what's going on here. For the rest of us, this may come as a shocking revelation.

For anyone who has been following the Alliance of American Football, it's easy to see how good Garrett Gilbert is doing this season. But what some people might not realize is there is a New England Patriots connection here.

Sure, his NFL career stat sheet only shows you his 40 passing yards with the Carolina Panthers this past season, but he was a member of the Patriots for like seven months. They signed him to the practice squad on December 17, 2014, and he was on the practice squad when the Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. And then, he got waved on June 11, 2015, a date which will now live in infamy.

But yeah, now he's the Orlando Apollos' starting quarterback, and he has shined in both of the team's games so far. In his debut, he completed 15 of his 25 passes for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns. And last week, he completed 19 of his 28 throws for 393 yards and two touchdowns. Oh yeah, and he has a touchdown reception.

So yeah, while some Patriots fans might miss him, he is off doing bigger and better things.

Regardless of what one thinks of the AAF, it's certainly nice for a guy like Gilbert to get looked at since you have to figure he wants to play in the NFL again next season.

Also, fun fact about Gilbert: he is the son of Gale Gilbert, who lost five Super Bowls as a backup quarterback. He was on the four straight Buffalo Bills losing Super Bowl teams in the early 1990s and then went to the San Diego Chargers--where he lost again. Rough.

Here he is in action.