With Tom Brady Leaving New England, What's Next For Patriots At Quarterback?
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady is leaving the New England Patriots.
Let it sink in for a moment.
And another.
Ready?
After 20 years of unparalleled success, the Patriots will have someone other than Tom Brady throwing the football next season (aside from that one season in 2008). Who is that gentleman going to be? That is the critical decision Bill Belichick has to make in the coming days.
Spoiler alert: The next guy probably won't be as good as the last one. Just a guess.
But we've heard for years that Belichick wants to win with a quarterback not named Tom Brady, and now the great hooded one will get his shot. At the moment, here is New England's depth chart at quarterback:
1. Jarrett Stidham
2. Cody Kessler
Yeah, Belichick has some work to do. In Bill We Trust will echo louder than ever in Foxboro.
The coach is obviously high on Stidham after taking him in the fourth round last year, but the 23-year-old isn't ready to take over an NFL team just yet. Stidham impressed during the preseason, but threw just four passes during the regular season. One of those was taken back for a pick-six in what should have been a blowout win over the Jets. Instead, Brady had to find his way back on the field to finish off the win.
That interception doesn't mean Stidham won't one day be a quality quarterback in the NFL. But that likely won't happen in 2020.
Belichick could hand the keys over to Stidham and let the youngster take his lumps in 2020, while Kessler (and probably another rookie draft pick) backs him up. But if the Patriots want to remain competitive in the AFC, they're going to have to do a little better than that.
On the free agent front, Teddy Bridgewater is the most enticing name on the market. He was beyond solid filling in for Drew Brees last season, throwing for 1,300 yards, nine touchdowns and just two interceptions in his nine games. The Saints went 5-0 in games that Bridgewater started.
All of that has likely earned Bridgewater a lovely payday this offseason, one the cap-strapped Patriots probably won't be able to fit on their books unless they make a handful of moves.
Update: It looks like Bridgewater will be signing with the Panthers when the new league year begins Wednesday afternoon.
Enter the other free agent passers: Jameis Winston and Philip Rivers. Winston was a pick-machine last season, with opposing teams plucking 30 of his passes out of the air (though some were thrown directly to them). He completed just 60.7 percent of his passes. Winston will be available if Brady takes Tampa Bay's money, but that sounds like one big headache for Belichick and Josh McDaniels.
Like Brady, Rivers is on the final leg of his football career. That is where the Tom Brady comparison ends. Rivers certainly brings the competitive fire that New England fans would embrace, and the man has been tough as nails throughout his 16-year career. But if the Patriots are willing to sign a 38-year-old Rivers, why wouldn't they just bring back Brady?
The trade market offers a few names that will either cause you to raise your eyebrows or reach for a bucket. Derek Carr? Maybe. Nick Foles? Meh, but maybe. Andy Dalton? Yuck.
That being said, brace yourselves for the next QB to have a head of red hair under his helmet next season.
There has been so much smoke to the Dalton fire that it shouldn't be a surprise if it actually goes down at this point. If there is one positive with Dalton, it's that he is signed for just one more season at $17.5 million. Still, if the Patriots acquire Dalton, they'll be paying upwards of $31 million at quarterback (thanks to Brady's $13.5 million cap hold) for a quarterback that is not named Tom Brady.
Could the Patriots still make the playoffs with Dalton under center? Sure. Maybe. Probably. There is an extra playoff spot built in for 2020, which you could essentially tab the "Andy Dalton Will Lose This Game" round.
As was expected whenever he decided to walk way, there really is no great option for replacing Tom Brady in New England . It's pretty difficult to replace the greatest to ever do it, but that's where Bill Belichick is this Tuesday, It was a position he knew arrive one day, and given how things went down, it seems Belichick knew it would happen this offseason.
We've entered waters in New England that haven't been waded in two decades. The Patriots are just like your average NFL team looking for a franchise QB. It's a process that will likely take a few shots, and may require a season of Andy Dalton at quarterback, until Stidham or another young guy is ready.
But at least the Patriots have another G.O.A.T. making that decision.
