O’Connell knows that being sour about the team’s interest in Lemon isn’t going to help him.
“No, if I was thinking about that stuff I’m going to come out here and not be prepared for practice,’’ said O’Connell. “That’s all up to coach [Bill] Belichick and those who make those decisions. I’m just coming out here trying to have good practices and prepare myself every day.’’
While the Patriots’ motivation for looking at Lemon, who served as a backup in Jacksonville last season, may have some roots in reservations about O’Connell, it’s also possible that they just want to challenge him.
In Brady’s second season, he beat out veteran Damon Huard for the backup spot behind Drew Bledsoe.
The 24-year-old O’Connell is already competing with Matt Gu tierrez and undrafted rookie Brian Hoyer. He said he’d welcome another QB into the mix.
“Absolutely. I mean we have a very competitive group as it is right now,’’ said O’Connell. “I’m sure that wouldn’t change with a quality player coming in. It’s more so about me right now, personally just trying to do what I can to be successful on a play-to-play basis and just be as consistent as I can because I know that’s what’s being asked of me.’’
The 6-foot-5-inch, 230-pound O’Connell, a third-round pick last year, possesses a strong arm and excellent mobility. He acknowledged that in his second camp he expects more out of himself and so does the team, but he has been a little inconsistent during the first four days of camp.
Belichick said Friday that with the quarterbacks working with different receivers, running different plays, and seeing a variety of coverages early in camp that the timing was not going to be there. He said O’Connell progressed during the offseason.
