Fans keep great questions coming

Happy New Year, and welcome to the first Patriots mailbag of 2024. The Patriots may have hit the skids in Buffalo again, but you guys didn’t disappoint, delivering great questions. Let’s get to it.

The Patriots have a good defense but obviously need significant improvement on offense. So apart from drafting a quarterback, will there be any good quarterbacks out there worth pursuing in free agency?

— Robert Kelley, Asheville, N.C. (via Portland, Maine)

Robert, this is going to be an incredible offseason when it comes to movement at quarterback. There’s a lot of time between now and the start of free agency in March (which means some guys can be tagged between now and then), but here are a few possibilities: Kirk Cousins, Ryan Tannehill, Baker Mayfield, Gardner Minshew, and Jacoby Brissett. (Russell Wilson also is likely to hit the open market.)

Not a world-class bunch, but there are a few intriguing names in there. From this viewpoint, the best course of action might be to sign a veteran stopgap; I remain a huge Brissett fan, and provided Bill Belichick is still around, he is a familiar face whom the coach theoretically is comfortable starting in the short term.

Meanwhile, you add a quarterback in the draft, and if the rookie isn’t OK to start out of the gate, you have an option in Brissett.

Related to the draft, I say the Patriots should try and get Marvin Harrison Jr. and sign Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins. What do you think?

— Brian Patterson

Harrison is the closest thing this draft has to a sure thing, at least when you’re talking about offensive skill-position players. As long as he stays healthy, he’s a transformative talent who will thrive in any scheme. (In that sense, he reminds me a bit of Larry Fitzgerald.)

The scenario you present is feasible, but I think where you get tripped up — at least as it relates to Belichick and the Patriots — is the quarterback position. Both of those guys are going to get big money in free agency, and to be honest, there are going to be better options for New England. Things are going to change if Belichick is let go. But as it stands, I don’t think that’s going to happen.

It sounds as though Matthew Slater will be calling it a career at the end of this season. Given that he is widely acknowledged to be among the upper echelon of special teamers in NFL history, do you see him joining the Patriots coaching staff next year?

— Steve Fortin, Mansfield

Love this question for a few reasons, Steve, not the least of which is that I wrote about Slater’s future and the possibility of him going into coaching a few days ago. Short answer? He wants to start his retirement — whenever it begins — by focusing on his family.

“My focus when I’m done playing football is going to be on my family,” he said. “Putting us in the best position to be successful. As much as I’ve put into this game, the reality is at times I’ve been an absentee husband and an absentee father. My family deserves my best in the next chapter. We’ll see.”

Why is Bo Nix not mentioned as a quarterback possibility for the Patriots?

— Bill Williams, Pittsburgh

Completely fair question, Bill. If this were a different year and there was no Caleb Williams or Drake Maye, you could make a case for Nix as a potential No. 1 pick. He has played in multiple offenses (at Auburn and Oregon), shown steady improvement over his college career, and at least on the surface, there are no questions about his health or off-field issues.

The one thing that will be an issue with Nix — at least in the eyes of some evaluators — is his age. He’s going to be 24 next month, which means his potential window for success is going to be slightly smaller than the other prospects.

With quarterbacks playing into their 40s, it’s probably not an overwhelming concern; it’s just something that’s going to be part of the conversation when you stack him against some of his contemporaries.

If the Pats fall to picks four or five, it seems to me that getting Jacoby Brissett off the free agent market would free up some choices. They could then draft one of the great tackles in the draft, keep Zappe as a backup, draft a wide receiver in Round 2, and then see how the rest of the draft lines up.

— Michael Smith, Utah (via Worcester)

I love most of this scenario, including the move for Brissett and drafting a wide receiver in the second round. (Although I fear Twitter would break if Belichick drafted a tackle — no matter how great he is — with the fourth or fifth overall pick.)

But if you do that, you have to make absolutely sure you find another young quarterback you can count on in the draft. Bottom line? I could be talked into this, Michael, but only on the condition that New England finds a way to land someone like Michael Penix Jr., probably toward the end of the first round.

As I’ve said before, Penix doesn’t have the pedigree of Williams or Maye, or the dynamic playmaking skills of Jayden Daniels. But he seems to save his best plays for the biggest moments. I have questions about the health of his knees (a question I’m sure he’ll get at the combine), but there’s a real appeal with Penix that I think is going to translate nicely to the NFL, providing he lands with the right team.

Would the Patriots be able to pry away Justin Herbert for their first-round pick and do you believe that is a good move? Would getting a proven QB be better than the risk of a first-round flameout?

— Mark English, via e-mail

Great question, Mark. Given the way the season ended, and with their coach and GM getting shown the door, I think there’s going to be a natural inclination for the Chargers to hit the reset button, which could include a new quarterback.

That being said, I don’t think the Patriots would be inclined to make that move, especially considering the wealth of talent that’s going to be there in the draft, as well as some of the possibilities on the free agent market.

I don’t necessarily think it would happen, but if you could talk Los Angeles down to a Day 2 pick, then I think that might be a conversation worth having. But I’m not sure I’d give up a top-10 pick in the draft for him.