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List of New England Patriots starting quarterbacks

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This is a list of every starting quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL).

History

There have been thirty starting quarterbacks for the Patriots since their founding in 1960. Babe Parilli was the franchise's first longtime starter, leading the Patriots to their only playoff berth and championship game appearance while a member of the American Football League (AFL). Following the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, Jim Plunkett was drafted by the Patriots first overall to become the starting quarterback, but an unsuccessful tenure resulted in him being traded after five seasons. Plunkett was succeeded by Steve Grogan, who served as the team's primary starter during the late 1970s and helped lead them to their first NFL playoff appearances. A series of injuries caused Grogan to lose his starting job by the 1980s, although he remained on the team until 1990. The Patriots lacked a steady quarterback for most of the 1980s, with five (including Grogan) starting in the 1987 season. First-round selection Tony Eason, the longest-tenured of the decade, contributed to the Patriots making their Super Bowl debut, but lasted only three seasons as the primary starter.

In the 1990s, first overall pick Drew Bledsoe ended the Patriots' search for a quarterback by bringing the team to consistent playoff contention after five losing seasons. Bledsoe's success would be eclipsed the next decade when an injury caused him to be relieved by backup Tom Brady. As the franchise's longest-tenured quarterback from 2001 to 2019, Brady is credited with the Patriots dynasty that saw them set the records for Super Bowl appearances and wins. Following a one-off season in 2020 with free agent signing Cam Newton as the starter, the Patriots' starting quarterback from 2021–2023 was first round pick Mac Jones, who was named the starter at the beginning of his rookie season in 2021. After a successful rookie campaign, Jones' play continuously declined through his next two years, leading to his departure after the 2023 season.

Regular season

As the Patriots' primary quarterback in the AFL, Babe Parilli led them to the 1963 championship
The Patriots drafted Jim Plunkett first overall in 1971, but traded him after five seasons
Steve Grogan set the season record for quarterback rushing touchdowns in 1976, which stood for 35 years
Drew Bledsoe helped transform the Patriots into playoff contenders during the 1990s
Considered the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady won a record six Super Bowls with the Patriots

The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right in descending order:

Season(s) Quarterback(s) Ref.
Boston Patriots
1960 (AFL) Butch Songin (12) / Tom Greene (2)
1961 (AFL) Babe Parilli (8) / Butch Songin (6)
1962 (AFL) Babe Parilli (10) / Tom Yewcic (4)
1963 (AFL) Babe Parilli (14)
1964 (AFL)
1965 (AFL) Babe Parilli (13) / Eddie Wilson (1)
1966 (AFL) Babe Parilli (14)
1967 (AFL) Babe Parilli (11) / Don Trull (3)
1968 (AFL) Mike Taliaferro (7) / Tom Sherman (7)
1969 (AFL) Mike Taliaferro (14)
1970 Joe Kapp (10) / Mike Taliaferro (4)
New England Patriots
1971 Jim Plunkett (14)
1972
1973
1974
1975 Steve Grogan (7) / Jim Plunkett (5) / Neil Graff (2)
1976 Steve Grogan (14)
1977
1978 Steve Grogan (16)
1979
1980 Steve Grogan (12) / Matt Cavanaugh (4)
1981 Matt Cavanaugh (8) / Steve Grogan (7) / Tom Owen (1)
1982 Steve Grogan (6) / Matt Cavanaugh (3)
1983 Steve Grogan (12) / Tony Eason (4)
1984 Tony Eason (13) / Steve Grogan (3)
1985 Tony Eason (10) / Steve Grogan (6)
1986 Tony Eason (14) / Steve Grogan (2)
1987 Steve Grogan (6) / Tom Ramsey (3) / Tony Eason (3) / Bob Bleier (2) / Doug Flutie (1)
1988 Doug Flutie (9) / Steve Grogan (4) / Tony Eason (2) / Tom Ramsey (1)
1989 Steve Grogan (6) / Marc Wilson (4) / Tony Eason (3) / Doug Flutie (3)
1990 Marc Wilson (6) / Tommy Hodson (6) / Steve Grogan (4)
1991 Hugh Millen (13) / Tommy Hodson (3)
1992 Hugh Millen (7) / Scott Zolak (4) / Tommy Hodson (3) / Jeff Carlson (2)
1993 Drew Bledsoe (12) / Scott Secules (4)
1994 Drew Bledsoe (16)
1995 Drew Bledsoe (15) / Scott Zolak (1)
1996 Drew Bledsoe (16)
1997
1998 Drew Bledsoe (14) / Scott Zolak (2)
1999 Drew Bledsoe (16)
2000
2001 Tom Brady (14) / Drew Bledsoe (2)
2002 Tom Brady (16)
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008 Matt Cassel (15) / Tom Brady (1)
2009 Tom Brady (16)
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016 Tom Brady (12) / Jacoby Brissett (2) / Jimmy Garoppolo (2)
2017 Tom Brady (16)
2018
2019
2020 Cam Newton (15) / Brian Hoyer (1)
2021 Mac Jones (17)
2022 Mac Jones (14) / Bailey Zappe (2) / Brian Hoyer (1)
2023 Mac Jones (11) / Bailey Zappe (6)
2024 Drake Maye (12) / Jacoby Brissett (5)

Postseason

Season(s) Quarterback(s)
1963 (AFL) Babe Parilli (1–1)
1976 Steve Grogan (0–1)
1978
1982
1985 Tony Eason (3–1)
1986 Tony Eason (0–1)
1994 Drew Bledsoe (0–1)
1996 Drew Bledsoe (2–1)
1997 Drew Bledsoe (1–1)
1998 Scott Zolak (0–1)
2001 Tom Brady (3–0)
2003
2004
2005 Tom Brady (1–1)
2006 Tom Brady (2–1)
2007
2009 Tom Brady (0–1)
2010
2011 Tom Brady (2–1)
2012 Tom Brady (1–1)
2013
2014 Tom Brady (3–0)
2015 Tom Brady (1–1)
2016 Tom Brady (3–0)
2017 Tom Brady (2–1)
2018 Tom Brady (3–0)
2019 Tom Brady (0–1)
2021 Mac Jones (0–1)

Most games as starting quarterback

These quarterbacks have at least 40 starts for the Patriots in regular season games.

GP Games played
GS Games started
W Number of wins as starting quarterback
L Number of losses as starting quarterback
T Number of ties as starting quarterback
Pct Winning percentage as starting quarterback
Name Years GP GS W L T %
Tom Brady 2000–2019 285 283 219 64 — .768
Steve Grogan 1975–1990 149 135 75 60 — .556
Drew Bledsoe 1993–2001 124 123 63 60 — .512
Babe Parilli 1961–1967 94 83 44 32 7 .572
Jim Plunkett 1971–1975 61 61 23 38 — .377
Tony Eason 1983–1989 72 49 28 21 — .571
Mac Jones 2021–2023 42 42 18 24 — .429

Team career passing records

These quarterbacks have over 10,000 career passing yards with the Patriots in regular season games.

Name Comp Att % Yds TD Int
Tom Brady 6,377 9,988 63.8 74,571 541 179
Drew Bledsoe 2,544 4,518 56.3 29,657 166 138
Steve Grogan 1,879 3,593 52.3 26,886 182 208
Babe Parilli 1,140 2,413 47.2 16,747 132 138
Jim Plunkett 729 1,503 48.5 12,665 62 87
Tony Eason 876 1,500 52.3 10,732 60 48

See also

Notes

  • In each game, a team picks one player to start in the quarterback position. Players may be substituted during the game, but the term "starting quarterback" refers to the player who started the game in that position.
  • Since the 1978 NFL season, all teams have played 16-game schedules.
  • Strikes by the National Football League Players Association in the 1982 and 1987 seasons resulted in shortened seasons (9- and 15-game schedules, respectively).

References

General
Specific
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  2. "1961 Boston Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
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  6. "1965 Boston Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 6, 2009.
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  54. "2013 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  55. "2014 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  56. "2015 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  57. "2016 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  58. "2017 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  59. "2018 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  60. "2019 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  61. "2020 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  62. "2021 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  63. "2022 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  64. "2023 New England Patriots Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
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  67. "NFL History by Decade, 1981–1990". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
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