Are Pats set at QB spot?
No telling who will replace Brady in New England
It has been a week since Tom Brady let New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft know that he wanted to meet, then went to Kraft’s home last Monday night and told his boss of two decades that he was moving on. The Patriots have had that long to transform themselves into a landing spot in the NFL-wide game of musical chairs being played by prominent quarterbacks and to make a headline-grabbing move to put Brady’s successor in place.
They haven’t done it. They stood by and watched while Teddy Bridgewater, Nick Foles and Philip Rivers went elsewhere. They haven’t traded for Andy Dalton or Cam Newton. They haven’t jumped into the free agent fray to sign Jameis Winston. They haven’t made themselves the next destination for Joe Flacco.
The Patriots did make a quarterback move Sunday, agreeing to a contract with Brian Hoyer after he was released Saturday by the Indianapolis Colts. Hoyer had multiple stints as Brady’s backup and now returns to New England on the heels of the six-time Super Bowl winner’s exit. Brady had his deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers essentially in place Tuesday evening and officially signed the two-year, $50 million contract Friday. The post-Brady Patriots now have Hoyer on the roster alongside fellow quarterbacks Jarrett Stidham and Cody Kessler.
Could that be it? Would Coach Bill Belichick really go into the 2020 season with Stidham, a fourthround draft choice last year who had four regular season passing attempts last season as Brady’s rookie understudy, or Hoyer as the Patriots’ starter? Perhaps.
The Patriots “probably” are done at quarterback, according to one person familiar with the team’s planning.
That plan could be flexible, according to that person, who added that it depends on which quarterbacks might become available from this point onward because the team is always looking to upgrade if the value is right.
If that indeed is the case, that might rule out Winston, who already has been available on the unrestricted free agent market and was replaced by Brady in Tampa. Winston threw for 33 touchdowns and more than 5,100 yards last season in Coach Bruce Arians’ “no risk it, no biscuit” Buccaneers offense. But there were those unsightly 30 interceptions, and perhaps Belichick believes that not even he and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can fix such carelessness with the football.
It could rule out Dalton, who seemingly has been already available in a potential trade with the Cincinnati Bengals as they prepare to make Joe Burrow, the Heisman Trophy winner from LSU, the presumptive top overall selection in next month’s NFL draft. It could rule out Flacco, the former Super Bowl MVP for the Baltimore Ravens who was released last week by the Denver Broncos.
It would not necessarily rule out Newton, the former league MVP for the Carolina Panthers, if he’s released and willing to sign a modest contract. So far, he has been granted permission to seek a trade.
And it would not rule out the Patriots taking a quarterback in the draft.
But for now, at least, Belichick seems willing to take his chances with Stidham or Hoyer. Both are familiar with the New England offense, a potentially key consideration during an NFL offseason in which teams’ programs have been suspended indefinitely amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Many will use the 2020 NFL season as a referendum on whether Belichick or Brady was more responsible for the Patriots’ dynastic success over the last two decades. It’s not necessarily valid, but it’s probably unavoidable. Which will fare better without the other?
Brady launches the post-Patriots portion of his career playing for a coach, Arians, known as a quarterback guru and with abundant talent around him on the Buccaneers’ offense. He turns 43 in August, however, and he won’t have the benefit of many - or any - offseason practices before training camp to adjust to his new offense and teammates. But he is, after all, Tom Brady, arguably the greatest quarterback ever.
Belichick’s first post-Brady Patriots team will be coming off an opening-round playoff defeat to the Tennessee Titans. The roster has suffered key losses in free agency - linebackers Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins and Elandon Roberts also are among those to have departed - and salary cap space is tight. But he is, after all, Bill Belichick, arguably the greatest coach ever.
The Patriots, remember, went 11-5 (but just missed the playoffs) in the 2008 season, with Matt Cassel at quarterback after Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener. They went 3-1, recall, with first Jimmy Garoppolo and then Jacoby Brissett at quarterback while Brady served his four-game Deflategate suspension to open the 2016 season.
And if Belichick can win next season with Jarrett Stidham or Brian Hoyer at quarterback, it just might be his greatest coaching feat yet.