When the Patriots had practice Tuesday afternoon, there was only one quarterback on the field: Mac Jones.
Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer were released, while Jarrett Stidham remained on PUP, so it was just Jones under center.
That changed on Wednesday.
Hoyer was brought back on the practice squad and the team also reportedly has signed veteran Garrett Gilbert, who was most recently with the Cowboys, to the practice squad as well.
Now, the quarterbacks room is back to having four players -- Jones, Hoyer, Gilbert and Stidham.
Since Stidham is on PUP he cannot return until Week 6, but it will be interesting to see what happens with Hoyer and Gilbert. Both have experience in the system. Hoyer's is well-documented, but Gilbert was on the practice squad in 2014 when the Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX.
Practice squad players can be elevated to the active roster a few times during the year, but it would make sense for one of these players to be elevated to the active roster at some point, but maybe not even until after Week 1.
It appears the Patriots valued experience when it comes to who is behind the rookie.