New England Patriots Roster Recap: Quarterbacks

In today’s NFL, a good quarterback can get you a long way. Luckily for the New England Patriots, they’ve got three.

The New England Patriots will enter the summer with three quarterbacks on their roster. Tom Brady will return to Foxborough for his 18th season, Jimmy Garoppolo will enter his final year under contract with the Patriots, and Jacoby Brissett will look to continue his development through training camp and the preseason.

According to Spotrac.com, New England has allocated $15.8 million to the quarterback position in 2017, 10.79% of the team’s salary cap.

All three quarterbacks started games for the Patriots in 2016, with Garoppolo and Brissett making appearances during Brady’s four-game suspension. Jimmy Garoppolo started for New England in weeks 1 (at Arizona) and 2 (vs Miami) until being sidelined with an injury. Brissett, a rookie at the time, was thrust into action to close out Week 2 against the Dolphins and start weeks 3 (vs Houston) and 4 (vs Buffalo). The two backups combined for a 3-1 record in Brady’s absence with neither passer throwing an interception.

Speculation surrounding the Patriots quarterback situation will begin to ramp up over the next few months. Jimmy Garoppolo is set to hit free agency next season and it hasn’t been said whether the team plans to retain him. Tom Brady will turn 40 in August as well.

Although it would take a tragic turn of events to knock Brady from the Pats’ starting quarterback spot, many questions linger regarding the future of the position. Here is a breakdown of the quarterbacks heading into 2017.