Based on research through the Patriots media guide and Pro-Football-Refrence.com, on opening day against the Dolphins rookie first-round pick Mac Jones will become the 20th player in New England/Boston franchise history to make his first career NFL/AFL start at QB for the team.
Jones will become the fifth player to accomplish the feat under Bill Belichick’s two decades of leadership in Foxborough.
The list of names is rather varied. There’s a GOAT. A strike fill-in with a four-time Super Bowl champion cousin. A two-time Super Bowl winner who had to go elsewhere to find that success. And a couple names most members of Patriot Nation have either never heard or long-since forgotten.
Where Jones slots in on a list that runs the gamut from Tom Brady to Bob Bleier will be decided over the course of his career, not by anything he necessarily does on Sunday evening against the Dolphins at Gillette Stadium.
But it is interesting to see how the 19 guys in Patriots history to make their first career NFL start at quarterback in New England performed. Overall New England has a 10-9 mark in the games, with first-round picks like Jones having gone 1-2 in their three previous chances. The good news is all four QBs to make their first NFL starts under Belichick in New England won the game, dating back to Brady in 2001.
Jones also joins Drew Bledsoe and Jim Plunkett as first-round quarterbacks to start their first pro game.
Seven of the 19 prior QBs to make their first start in New England had a winning record with the team, while four finished at .500 and eight had a losing mark for the Patriots.
Steven Grogan is the most notable name on the list to never play for another team.
So, as we count down the hours to Jones’ much-hyped debut on Sunday against Miami here’s a look back at the list of quarterbacks to make their first NFL start in a Patriots uniform and how those games/careers played out.
2016
Jacoby Brissett – With fill-in starter Jimmy Garoppolo dealing with a shoulder injury and Tom Brady suspended, the third-round rookie Brissett was forced to start against the Texans on Sept. 22, 2016. Thanks in part to a solid game plan and a team effort, Brissett led the Patriots to a 27-0 victory over Houston in which he completed 11 of 19 passes for 103 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, though he did have a rushing score. Brissett lost his second start in a 16-0 shutout against the Bills and was traded from New England to the Colts at the end of training camp in 2017. Over five NFL seasons, Brissett has started 32 games, notching a 12-20 record and will be in town for Jones’s debut as he is currently the backup in Miami.
Jimmy Garoppolo – Three years into his NFL career as a former second-round pick, Garoppolo was thrust into the spotlight thanks to Tom Brady’s four-game NFL suspension in 2016. The former Eastern Illinois star got the opening day nod on Sept. 18, 2016 in Arizona on Sunday Night Football against the Cardinals. Garoppolo led the Patriots to the 23-21 road win completing 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions. A week later, Garoppolo threw three more touchdowns in the first half before leaving what would be his final start in New England with a shoulder injury. Garoppolo was traded to the 49ers midway through the 2017 season and helped San Francisco reach the Super Bowl in 2019.
2008
Matt Cassel – A seventh-round backup who never started a game during his college career at USC, Cassel was thrown into the starting job in his fourth NFL season when Tom Brady was lost to a torn ACL in the first quarter of the season opener. A week later, on Sept. 14, 2008, Cassel won his first start 19-10 over the Jets by completing 16 of 23 passes for 165 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Cassel actually led the Patriots to an 11-5 record on the year but missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker. He was traded to the Chiefs that offseason, earning Pro Bowl status in Kansas City in 2010.
Cassel won 36 games as a starter in his NFL career over 14 seasons with the Patriots, Chiefs, Vikings, Bills, Cowboys, Titans and Lions.
2001
Tom Brady – After Jets linebacker Mo Lewis put a vicious hit on Drew Bledsoe that landed the franchise QB in the hospital, the second-year sixth-round backup Brady made his starting debut for the 0-2 Patriots on Sept. 30, 2001. Brady completed 13 of 23 passes for 168 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in a 44-13 beatdown of the Colts. He kept the job even when Bledsoe returned to health, notching an 11-3 record as a starter.
Brady earned Pro Bowl status and helped guide New England to its first Lombardi Trophy with a clutch drive to set up a game-winning field goal to beat the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. Brady obviously went on to become the foundation of the New England dynasty that won six Super Bowls in nine trips during his 20 seasons in Foxborough. He added to his GOAT legacy last fall in Tampa Bay by leading the Bucs to Super Bowl glory after joining the team via free agency.
1993
Scott Secules – A backup over three prior seasons in Miami, Secules filled in for an injured Drew Bledsoe in 1993. His first NFL start on Oct. 17, 1993 at home against Houston. Secules completed 23 of 40 throws for 280 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in a 28-14 loss. He lost all four of what were his only NFL starts, throwing eight interceptions and one touchdown, although the final three were low-scoring games decided by a total of just seven points.
Drew Bledsoe – The No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft out of Washington State, Bledsoe started his rookie season opener for Bill Parcells’ Patriots. On Sept. 5, 1993 Bledsoe completed just 14 of 30 passes for 148 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in a 38-14 loss in Buffalo.
Bledsoe didn’t get his first win as a starter until the fifth game of the season but earned Pro Bowl status a year later by leading the NFL in attempts, completions and yards (as well as interceptions) while taking the Patriots to the playoffs. Two years later he helped the Patriots to the Super Bowl and was the team’s starter until losing the job to injury/Brady in 2001. Bledsoe was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2011.
1992
Scott Zolak – A 1991 fourth-round pick out of Maryland, Zolak started his first game in New England on Nov. 15, 1992 in Indianapolis. Zolak completed 20 of 29 passes for 261 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in a 37-34 win. Zolak started seven games over seven seasons with the Patriots, most of that time as Drew Bledsoe’s backup, before closing out his career in Miami in 1999.
1990
Tommy Hodson – Hodson arrived in New England as a third-round pick out of LSU in the 1990 draft. His first NFL start came in the 11th game of that season, a Nov. 25, 1990 34-14 loss to Phoenix. Hodson completed 17 of 29 passes for 182 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the losing effort. He went on to lose all six games he started to close out that season throwing four touchdowns and five interceptions for a Patriots team that finished 1-15 overall. Hodson started six more games over the 1991 and 1992 seasons, finishing his Patriots career with a 1-11 record as a starter.
1987
Tom Ramsey – Drafted by the Patriots in the 10th round in 1983 out of UCLA, Ramsey made his first of five NFL starts on Nov. 22, 1987. That 24-0 shutout of the Colts saw the former USFL QB completed 12 of 26 passes for 183 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Ramsey lost his next two starts, including against the Eagles in which he threw for 402 yards with three touchdowns. Ramsey would start one more game for the Patriots in 1988 before closing out his career with the Colts in 1989.
Bob Bleier – Never heard of him? Join the club and for good reason. Bleier is the cousin of former Steelers star running back Rocky Bleier and served as a strike fill-in quarterback for the Patriots, starting his first NFL game on Oct. 4, 1987. The Richmond product completed 10 of 26 passes for 138 yards with one touchdown and no picks in a 20-10 loss to the Browns, He orchestrated a 14-7 win over the Bills a week later by completing four of 13 throws with no scores and one interception, the last game in which he would throw a pass.
1983
Tony Eason – Part of the famed 1983 quarterback draft class, Eason landed in New England with the No. 15 overall pick out of Illinois. Serving as veteran Steven Grogan’s backup to open his career, Eason got his first start on Nov. 27, 1983. He complete 13 of 27 passes for 159 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in a 26-3 loss to the Jets in New York. Though he threw just one touchdown compared to three interceptions over the final four games of the season, Eason did manage a 2-2 record in his four late-season starts for an 8-8 team. While he never lived up to hype of the rest of a draft class that included John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino – who went to Miami late in the first round – Eason did help lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl after the 1985 season. He remained in New England through 1989 before concluding his career with the Jets.
1980
Matt Cavanaugh – A second-round pick in the 1978 draft, Cavanaugh didn’t notch his first NFL start until Nov. 23, 1980. His starting debut saw him complete 10 of 21 throws for 150 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a 47-21 win over Baltimore. Cavanaugh won three of his four starts to close out the 1980 season and went on to have a 13-year career in which he started a total of 19 games with the Patriots, 49ers and Eagles while serving as a backup with the Giants to end his career.
1975
Steve Grogan – A fifth-round rookie, Grogan made his first career start on Nov. 2, 1975 for a then 2-4 squad. Grogan completed 14 of 34 attempts with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 24-17 loss at St.
Louis. Grogan won just one of his seven starts to close out the season while throwing 11 touchdowns compared to 18 interceptions. But he would remain with New England through 1990, serving as the team’s primary starter for much of his career while earning a spot in the Patriots Hall of Fame along the way.
Neil Graff – Graff made the first of the only two starts of his three-year NFL career on Sept. 21, 1975. The Patriots lost the season opener to Houston 7-0, with Graff completing 10 of 18 passes for 95 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. A week later he made the final start of his career when he threw two touchdowns and three interceptions in a 22-14 loss to the Dolphins.
1971
Jim Plunkett – The No. 1 overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft out of Stanford, Plunkett started from day one in New England. His opening day debut on Sept. 19, 1971 saw Plunkett complete six of 15 passes with two touchdowns and one interception in a 20-6 win over the Raiders in Foxborough.
He started all 14 games as a rookie for a Patriots squad that went 6-8 with Plunkett throwing 19 touchdowns compared to 16 interceptions. Plunkett was with New England from 1971-75, when he was traded to the 49ers in exchange for three first-round picks. He later went on to win a pair of Super Bowls late in his career with the Raiders, taking MVP honors in Super Bowl XV.
1968
Tom Sherman – Sherman’s two-year pro career saw him earn his first AFL start on Nov. 3, 1968 in a home game against the Broncos. The rookie completed 11 of 32 passes with one touchdown and four interceptions in a 35-14 loss. Sherman went 1-6 as a starter over the rest of that season, his only as a Patriot, for a Boston squad that finished with a 4-10 record overall.
He completed just 39.8 percent of his 236 passes while throwing 12 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.
1962
Tom Yewcic – Based on the information available online, it appears Yewcic made his first career start at QB on Nov. 23, 1962 in a home game against the Bills. He completed 12 of 17 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in a 21-10 win. Yewcic, who also contributed as a running back and punter, had a 3-1 record down the stretch of the season for a Patriots team that went 9-4-1 overall.
1960
Tom Greene – Though it’s tough to verify, it appears the Holy Cross product Greene started the second and third games of the 1960 season at quarterback for the Patriots, a win over New York and a loss to Buffalo.
Those seem to be the only two starts of his two-year professional career that spanned 11 games.
Butch Songin – Songin started the Patriots AFL franchise debut on Sept. 9, 1960. He completed 12 of his 24 passes for 145 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 13-10 loss to Denver. Songin started 12 of 14 games for Boston in 1960, including all five of the team’s wins in a 5-9 inaugural campaign.
