In the middle of a very busy offseason, the New England Patriots fired and hired a brand new front office. With this drastic change, there was a large question mark placed on the quarterback position.

Former starting quarterback Mac Jones, drafted 15th overall out of Alabama in 2021, lead the team through a sour, unsatisfactory, season this past year. In his college tenure he led the Crimson Tide to victory, but his time with the Patriots was less than stellar.

With only 2,120 yards and 10/12 touchdown to interception ratio in the 2023-2024 season, the Patriots had no choice but to move on from the former first round pick. Jones was traded in March to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Patriots quickly moved forward and signed their former 3rd round draft pick, Jacoby Brissett.

Brissett, drafted in 2016, departed after a single season to the Indianapolis Colts in 2017 by trade. In his short time in New England, Brissett served as the third string quarterback to Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo. Before Brissett was traded during the 2017 season, after injuries to both Brady and Garoppolo in 2016, Brissett stepped up and threw for exactly 400 yards in the air, and 83 yards on the ground in only 3 games. As a rookie, this was a surprise for most New England fans, and many believed that he would be Tom Brady’s “successor”. Former teammates loved Brissett, and so did the coaching staff. With the Colts proposing a trade that was low risk for WR Phillip Dorsett, they had no choice but to accept it, and say goodbye to their young third stringer. 

Brissett made a name for himself in the league, and commonly used his leadership and abilities as a “bridge” quarterback to help train current franchise quarterbacks. Two of them being Tua Tagovailoa and Deshaun Watson. 

When current Patriots head coach, Jerod Mayo, was hired in January after longtime head coach Bill Belichick’s retirement, he immediately signed his guy. “A guy like Jacoby, he’s a great leader,” Mayo told NFL Network. “Everyone loves him. To get him back in the building is definitely helpful for us”. 

Mayo and the head office knew that Brissett could only lead for so long. They decided to take a chance on a young QB from North Carolina. For their 3rd overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Patriots selected Drake Maye. The 6-foot-4, 223-pound passer threw 63 touchdown passes and only 16 interceptions over three college seasons. His electric arm strength, and ability to move in the pocket were characteristics that New England had been looking for since the departure of Brady. Maye was ranked as a “top 5 prospect” in this draft class and was notably compared to Chargers franchise quarterback, Justin Herbert. 

As the new season approaches, the Patriots have a lot of work they need to do to get back to their years of victory. Their first step does start with finding their franchise guy. With both of these quarterbacks being team players, and very knowledgeable individuals, there is no doubt for the future. New England’s first game starts September 8th, against the Bengals. No one is sure of who will start for this team on day one, but the hope is that they will find their guy before their debut in the fall in preseason.