6 rings One-Off Wednesday: Should QBs throw at the NFL Comine?
As a Patriots fan, chances are you were severely underwhelmed, and that’s putting it lightly, with the quality of quarterback play from the team in 2023. Well, it seems the new management at Gillette Stadium was too, and drastic change will soon be coming under center in Foxborough.
According to the Patriots reporters at MassLive.com, the New England Patriots have a plan in place to drastically remake their QB room this offseason. The plan includes selecting a quarterback third overall in the upcoming draft as well as signing a veteran QB, potentially to start while the rookie QB develops. The report also adds that expectations are the team will trade QB Mac Jones this offseason.
A report earlier in the day from The Athletic’s Jeff Howe stated the Pats preferred to select a QB third overall as well.
Names mentioned as possible veterans the Pats could bring aboard include Jacoby Brissett and Joe Flacco. New Pats OC Alex Van Pelt and QBs Coach T.C. McCartney both worked with Brissett in Cleveland back in 2022, and Flacco in 2023. Brissett might be a welcome addition for Pats fans as he was drafted by the team in 2016, subbing in for two starts for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo during Tom Brady’s DeflateGate suspension. Flacco came off the couch in New Jersey for an injury-riddled Browns QB room to lead the team to the layoffs and the NFl in passing the final few weeks of the season.
Other veteran QBs in the unrestricted free agent market include Kirk Cousins, Baker Mayfield, Gardner Minshew and possibly Russell Wilson after the Denver Broncos likely move on from the 12 year veteran.
As for which QB the Pats prefer at the top of the draft? That remains to be seen, and a lot will hinge on what the Washington Commanders do with the second overall pick. Consensus thinking right now is the Chicago Bears will select Caleb Williams out of USC first overall, and then the great Jayden Daniels/Drake Maye debate begins. Patriots de facto GM Eliot Wolf said at the combine this week, “I think it’s a really good year for quarterbacks.”
Nothing has been said about who the Pats prefer most overall, or if they’d entertain trading back should their primary choice be unavailable third overall.
The combination of Mac Jones and Bailey Zape struggled mightily last season, combining for 3,392 yards passing, 16 TDs and 21 INTs. NFL.com had them ranked as the 30th best QB overall by season’s end (insert awkward grinning emoji here). Many sympathize with the plight of Jones, a first round pick back in 2021, going through three offensive coordinators in three years, not to mention the dysfunction of the Matt Patricia offense in 2022 and a strained relationship with head coach Bill Belichick in 2023. A fresh start for Jones, set to enter his fourth year in the league, may be best for all parties.
Patriots fans will likely welcome this report with open arms as good news the new regime realizes the performance of the QBs last season was unacceptable and drastic change necessary to begin improving and compete in the increasingly difficult AFC East.
The NFL Combine is currently underway in Indianapolis, and the first night of the NFL Draft is set for April 25th in Detroit.
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