Tom Brady is still a pending free agent.
We’re three days away from the NFL’s legal tampering window, which opens at noon on Monday. And Brady is set to enter free agency for the first time in his career. Anything is possible for Brady. Anything is possible for the Patriots. At the moment, there is little indication of whether they’ll reunite. There’s also little indication they won’t.
While we’ve waited for Brady’s decision, we’ve considered every possible landing spot. And we’ve considered a lot of options at quarterback for the Patriots. Now is the final opportunity to consider every option. Bill Belichick is definitely doing just that. He’s weighing the draft, the trade market and the free agency options. So let’s do the same. Let’s look at all 27 quarterbacks that we can think of as options for New England.
We’ve ranked them in order of desirability, while weighing the cost of the quarterback in contract dollars and, when applicable, in trade costs.
Not impossible
27. Nick Mullens, 49ers: (Trade) He’s not a high-end starter, but perhaps offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels would get Mullens in the building to see if he could serve as a starter for a year or two while the Patriots prepare for Jarrett Stidham or another young quarterback to take over the job.
26. Jacob Eason, Washington: (Draft) He’s got the arm talent that some evaluators fawn over. But the Patriots aren’t usually among those talent evaluators. Eason is pegged as one of the five best quarterbacks in the draft, but he’s probably not going to be ready to start in his first year in the NFL, with his intellect and mechanics needing work, even with his physical abilities.
25. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma: (Draft) Hurts’ draft stock hasn’t soared like many of the other quarterbacks in this draft. There’s a chance the Patriots could land him in the third round or later. And that might actually appeal to them as they consider a quarterback, because the Eason is getting first-round hype, which is probably undeserving. Even if Hurts does fall to the Patriots are a reasonable draft position, he probably won’t be ready to start in 2020.
24. Nick Foles, Jaguars: (Trade) The Jaguars seem to be toying with the idea of parting ways with Foles. Quarterback Gardner Minshew showed enough promise for Jacksonville to hand him the starting job. After a trade, Foles’ contract would shrink to about $16 million in 2020 with an out before the 2021 season. His deal really isn’t all that different than that of Andy Dalton’s, another quarterback who the media is connecting to the Patriots.
23. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dolphins: (Trade) Belichick has always had a thing for Fitzmagic, who is just 3-10 against the Patriots. But if the Dolphins decide to move on with Josh Rosen and/or a top draft pick, then Fitzpatrick would be available for a low cost. And while McDaniels probably wouldn’t be in love with the idea of Fitz, he’s also an NFL enigma. Who the heck knows which offensive coordinator secretly loves him?
22. Joe Flacco, Broncos: (Pending release) He seems an awful lot like a washed option. But he is an option, and it’s easy to image he’d like to try to revitalize his career in New England.
21. Case Keenum, QB, Redskins: (Free agency) Keenum had a catastrophic season in Washington, but perhaps that’s what might interest New England. McDaniels could study what made Keenum so successful in Minnesota when he went to the NFC Championship Game. Keenum’s contract would cost next to nothing, and he’d be a nice buy-low bridge quarterback for the Patriots.