BOSTON (CBS) — Bill Belichick seemingly made a statement last week that Ryan Mallett is his one and only backup quarterback, but it appears that may not definitely be the case.

According to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, the Patriots worked out free-agent quarterback Mike Kafka on Tuesday. The Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe also reported the visit.

Kafka was deemed expendable by the Eagles last week after they were unable to find a trade partner for the backup quarterback, due to the presence of Michael Vick, veteran Trent Edwards and rookie Nick Foles.

The Patriots, meanwhile, released veteran backup Brian Hoyer, who’s been behind Tom Brady on the depth chart since 2009.

Belichick often explains that the team works out several available players, and such a visit doesn’t necessarily mean anything one way or another. With perhaps another spot for a quarterback left on the roster, though, the Kafka situation at least bears watching.

Kafka, 25, has thrown just 16 NFL passes in his two seasons, completing 11 of them but throwing two interceptions. In his senior year at Northwestern in 2009, he completed 64.8 percent of his 492 passes for 3,430 yards, 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while also rushing for eight scores.