New England Patriots are only AFC East team set at quarterback for 2018
By Stephen Ur
The New England Patriots have had the same quarterback, Tom Brady, over the last 17 years. The other three AFC East teams, the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins have had multiple quarterbacks since then. It appears it will be the same in 2018.
Coming into the 2017 season, the New York Jets didn’t even have a team, let alone a quarterback. They looked as if they had it together to start, but they’ve come back down to earth as of recent.
They still don’t know who their quarterback is, either. Josh McCown hasn’t done well enough to earn the 2018 starting job yet. They may look into free agency or perhaps the draft. Nonetheless, they will more likely than have a new quarterback in 2018.
Buffalo just benched their mediocre quarterback in Tyron Taylor for an even worse rookie in Nathan Peterman. Both quarterbacks could be on their way out by this upcoming offseason.
The only team that seems to have a quarterback that is good enough to stick around is Ryan Tannehill. Unfortunately for him, he tore his ACL during training camp and missed this season. He could be back to his old ways in 2018, but at the same time, Miami may be looking for a backup plan who could eventually lead them to the playoffs and beyond.
As for the Patriots, Brady will be there until he retires. This isn’t a situation like in San Francisco where Joe Montana left and Steve Young did just as well. If Brady leaves or is traded, the heir in New England is Brian Hoyer. It’s near impossible Bill Belichick sticks with that.
Brady will be there in 2018. As of right now, he’s the only guaranteed starting quarterback in the AFC East for next season. The other three teams may have someone new starting at the helm for them. Looking at the quarterback position alone makes it easy to figure out why the Patriots will be the division champions once again this season.