The Sports Xchange

Former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner plans to sign with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent to play wide receiver, according to ESPN.

The 6-foot-4, 218-pound Gardner will join a Patriots team that already has successfully converted one quarterback into a wide receiver — Julian Edelman, who arrived in Foxborough in 2009.

Edelman, who was selected in the seventh round, played quarterback at Kent State. Edelman has since emerged as Tom Brady’s go-to receiver, but he also threw his first NFL pass in this past season’s playoffs, tossing a 51-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola in the Patriots’ AFC divisional-round win over the Baltimore Ravens.

At Michigan in his four years, Gardner appeared in 49 games, with 27 starts at quarterback and four at receiver. At quarterback, he set school records for passing yards in a game (503) and total yards in a game (584). He ranks sixth on Michigan’s career passing touchdown list (44); fourth on the school’s career passing yards list (6,336); fourth in total offense (7,252) and fourth in total completions (475).