The Patriots’ quarterback situation seems to be up in the air at the moment. When Mac Jones was at Jerod Mayo’s press conference, it was assumed that he and Mayo were happy to be working together. But it turned out Jones had just left the gym at Gillette Stadium and popped in for a coffee.
There’s a lot of chatter about the new coaching team wanting to draft a quarterback and Jayden Daniels’ name is high on the list. But going with a first-year head coach and a rookie quarterback is a bold move, and it doesn’t typically turn out like the 2023 Texans.
So, maybe Jerod Mayo and Co. would prefer an old head under center?
New Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt worked with five different starting quarterbacks and found surprising success with a 39-year-old Joe Flacco. Flacco is actually available in free agency. But you have to believe it’s unlikely Jerod Mayo would want a quarterback two years older than he is.
Here are three free-agent quarterbacks New England could actually be interested in.
Kirk Cousins
He’s won 42 games in the last five seasons, compared to the Patriots, who have won 41 in that same span. So that’s already an improvement and Cousins missed nine games last season due to injury.
He might not be the most exciting quarterback available in free agency; you could argue that’s Jameis Winston. But after the last two seasons, no Patriots fan is prepared to ride the Winston rollercoaster. Cousins is what passes for a safe pair of hands in this free-agent class.
Over the last five seasons, Cousins has thrown 141 touchdowns and just 42 interceptions. The Patriots have thrown 96 touchdowns and 71 interceptions. So even if people who aren’t fans of Cousins could argue, he wouldn’t be an upgrade.
He will be the most expensive option available, though, and he’s 36, so he isn’t a long-term solution. But the Patriots are projected to have over $66 million in cap space. Cousins would likely cost about $36 million. A solid quarterback would at least buy Jerod Mayo some time to find his feet as a head coach. A rookie quarterback could make his job pretty stressful.
Cousins' 2023 season ended on IR, though, after he tore his Achilles tendon. He should be fully recovered by OTAs in May, but Sports Illustrated quoted him as saying, “Will I ever play football again?”
Baker Mayfield
Mayfield was the starting quarterback when Van Pelt arrived in Cleveland from Cincinnati, and in the two years they were together, they went 17-13 during the regular seasons. That’s better than most people would have thought.
Mayfield played well during, too, throwing 43 touchdowns to 21 interceptions. He also recorded 299 rushing yards and two touchdowns and even caught a pass for 17 yards with Van Pelt calling the plays.
Mayfield has improved exponentially since his time in Cleveland. In his last 21 regular season starts, he has thrown 32 scoring passes and 12 interceptions. And he’s run for 200 yards.
He’s only 29, too, so he could be the long-term solution to the Patriots' quarterback woes. And he’ll be significantly cheaper than Cousins; the Buccaneers only paid him $4 million last season.
Jacoby Brissett
Brissett would be a familiar face for Patriots fans who weren’t exactly pleased when Belichick traded him to the Colts. Brissett didn’t start a game for the Commanders this season. But that’s a positive, considering the starting quarterback in Washington was sacked 65 times!
When he did get on the field, Brissett had a 78.3% completion rate, as 18 of his 23 passes were caught. And he threw three touchdown passes (a hefty 13% touchdown rate) with 0 interceptions. He also ran for 19 yards on three runs.
All of that comes from an incredibly small sample size, and Brissett has never started an entire season. The closest he came was back in 2019 when he started 15 games as a Colt. And he’s never really been on a good team since he left New England.
But he is a more than capable quarterback. Throughout his career, he has thrown for 10,574 yards, 51 touchdowns, and just 23 interceptions.
Brissett’s first stint in New England came in 2016, the season after Mayo retired from playing. And, remarkably, he’s only 31. He won’t turn 32 until December. He only made $8 million in Washington last year, too, so he’d be a very affordable option. And if the Patriots decided to draft a quarterback, Brissett would be an ideal mentor.