By Jack McNicholas

March 27, 2020

All eyes are on the New England Patriots next year with the departure of Tom Brady. Now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers many have been asking; who will take Brady’s place? There has not been much said on the Patriots side of the quarterback search. Trading for a quarterback or even signing a free agent does not seem to be in plans. I believe that when they are allowed to bring quarterbacks in for a physical they will look at veteran options and quarterbacks on the roster. It is time to examine the options.

Jared Stidham

New England sport outlets are making an argument for the Patriots to turn to second year man Jarrett Stidham. While fans got a small sample size of Stidham last season appearing in three games. Throwing only four passes, completing two. To go along with an interception. The last time the Patriots had a second year quarterback was when Tom Bady came in for Drew Bledsoe. Now they have Bill Belichick going through an offseason with a young quarterback that can be groomed for the long term success. Brian Hoyer was signed by the Patriots and he can be a helpful veteran for helping the young quarterback take the next step. Stidham would be an unproven option but with that coaching staff he has high potential.

Cam Newton

Cam Newton was released after many successful seasons with the Panther which included an MVP campaign and a Super Bowl Berth. Since then it has been more down to earth for Cam. Newton has not won a game in his last eighth starts. This would be a great situation as he would have many weapons around him and Belichick would create a scheme for him. Bill has waited a long time to have a versatile quarterback. Newton only played in two games last season. He will be rested and healthy when week one comes around. Cam was a trade candidate for me but was eventually released as his contract demanded teams pay the 20 million per year left on his contract. I see the only obstacle is that Belichick does not want to pay that much to a veteran like Newton. It would be fun to watch Cam in this offense. The financials may be the only thing in the way of this fit coming to fruition.

Andy Dalton

Andy Dalton has been a long time starter for the Bengals and after this season where he was benched in week 10. The team found themselves with the first pick in the draft. Barring anything unforeseen. This drafts number one overall selection will likely be LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. Dalton will not be the starter and the Bengals have allowed for him to seek a trade. I would have predicted that Chicago would have traded for Dalton but they made a trade with the Jaguars to acquire Nick Foles. Andy still has a great arm and is a pocket passing quarterback just like Brady. I feel an obstacle here is the pressure to win in New England. After six championships and constantly winning their division Andy Dalton will need to play to a standard we have not seen from him in his nine years as a starter.

Jordan Love

My mock draft from last week has the Patriots selecting Utah State quarterback Jordan Love in the first round. I believe that the Patriots will do their homework as they always look to trade back and have not had to draft a quarterback besides Jimmy Garoppolo since Tom Brady took his place as the starter in 2001. Jordan Love has shot up draft boards as last year he had many of his offensive weapons change. Jordan Love had a tough season last year but he has all the intangibles that the Patriots are looking for he is a competitive and hardworking player and it appears the Patriots were looking at his work out during the combine. I am excited to see if the Patriots turn to the new chapter in the first round of the draft.

All of these options will create question marks. No quarterback will be able to live up to Tom Brady and what he has done for New England. Six Super Bowls, more wins than any quarterback in history, Seventeen Divisional Titles and a winning reputation he leaves behind. Whatever move they make will be well thought out and for the best interest of the team. They have taken the time to keep their options open. This will be a quarterback spot opening like never before. They are treating the situation as exactly that. All eyes are on Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft in the coming months.