Patriots Try Out Former Newton South Quarterback Austin Burton: Report

NEWTON, MA — A former Newton South star quarterback with family ties to the New England Patriots worked out for the team on Monday amid a season of struggles in Foxboro.

Austin Burton, who was one of the state's top quarterback prospects while playing for the Lions from 2013 through 2015, was in Foxboro on Monday, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss. Burton helped lead a resurgent Newton South program into the state playoffs during his three seasons there before transferring to West Orange High School in Winter Haven, Florida for his senior season.

He went on to play six years of college football — including the COVID-19 exemption year — at UCLA and Purdue. He finished his career at Purdue where he played in six games in 2022 and backed up current Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback Aidan O'Connell. He played in six games that year, with two starts, and threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns.

Burton's grandfather, Ron Burton, played for the Patriots. The Patriots present their Ron Burton Community Service Award each year to the player who makes an impact off-field in the Boston area.

His father, Steve Burton, is the longtime sports anchor at CBS Boston. His sister, Kayla, played at Lehigh University and has worked for both the NFL Network and ESPN as a sideline reporter. His sister, Veronica, was a star basketball player at Northwestern University who now plays for the Dallas Stars of the WNBA. His oldest sister, Kendall, played basketball at Villanova University.

Burton was one of five players to work out as free agents on Monday, with none of them signing with the team as of Tuesday morning. NFL teams routinely hold free agent workouts early in the week through a season.