The New England Patriots quarterback situation took a major turn after the departure of Tom Brady — as expected.
New England currently has second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer on the roster. Stidham has been the projected starter to this point, but Hoyer signed with the team for the third time because he was given the opportunity to battle for the starting spot.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport talked further about the situation and assumed Hoyer would be the starting guy in September.
“My guess right now is Brian Hoyer is the starting quarterback of the Patriots in 2020, but I think that is something that will be ever-evolving as we get through next season,” Rapoport said.
Rapoport also believes they’ll use a premium pick to draft a quarterback this year.
“I would say the Patriots are very firmly in the quarterback mix,” he said. “They’re just so far back, so I’m having trouble figuring out, like, what are they actually going to do? Because they’re up in the 20s. (Utah State quarterback) Jordan Love sliding into the teens and them grabbing him is a scenario that I’ve thought a lot about. They also had some success with Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round, so maybe they try to repeat that.
“The Patriots are going to take a quarterback, probably with a premium pick. I would just imagine it’s not at a pick they currently have.”
After the Top 4 QBs are selected, where do the rest shake out? And could the #Patriots make a move for Eason, Fromm or Hurts?@nflnetwork @RapSheet shared what he's been hearing just 9 days before the #NFLDraft: pic.twitter.com/Z1wC4whKzH
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) April 14, 2020
The Patriots have the No. 23 pick and then don’t have another pick until the third round, so they’d have to make some moves to draft a premium quarterback. New England also has a dire need for tight ends and linebackers, so it makes chasing a quarterback tricky.
This will be an ongoing story until the team makes a decision in the fall, but Hoyer is the guy for now according to Rapoport.
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