5 quarterbacks who could start for the New England Patriots in Week 1 of 2024

No. 5 - Kirk Cousins

The last quarterback on the list might not be the sexiest choice, but if the New England Patriots want to use a bit of their disposable cash while drafting players who improve the team overall, the Patriots could do worse than Kirk Cousins. The knock on Cousins has been that he isn't great in the playoffs, but New England might not have to worry about that in 2024. Or they might, because Cousins is still good enough to help his teams make a postseason run.

Cousins might not be crazy expensive, either. He will be 36 years old in Week 1 of 2024, and he will be returning from a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in late October. Teams don't want to pay a lot of money to an aging quarterback freshly coming back from an injury that could take more than a year to fully recover from.

But Cousins should still have had enough time to get back on the field to be able to start next year. His regular season numbers are very good and, most importantly, consistently good. He has a quarterback rating of 103.1 or better in four of the last five years. In six years with Minnesota, his interception percentage has been only 1.8, while his touchdown percentage has been 5.6. That is a sterling ratio.

Cousins also knows how to bring his team back from the brink of loss. In 2022 alone, he had eight 4th quarter comebacks and eight game-winning drives. He has led the league in that category twice in his career, including last season. Cousins does get a bit of a bad rap in the postseason, though. His career record is 1-4, but he has a 5 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio and a quarterback rating of 93.7.

Overall, Cousins is a winner, especially in the regular season, who can come to New England and make the team better for a few years.

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