Patriots Daily: Time to Add a Practice Squad Quarterback?

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett has taken a beating so far in 2024. In three games, he’s been hit 25 times. At least one hit in each game has left Brissett looking like he may have suffered an injury. Brissett keeps getting up and staying in the game to his credit. Nobody’s questioning his toughness. However, anyone’s ability to sustain this much contact for much longer is certainly questionable.

Many believe rookie Drake Maye remains on the bench because New England doesn’t trust their offensive line to keep him safe. Maye played the final drive against the New York Jets on Thursday. The Jets sacked Maye twice and neither was even the biggest hit he took in the game.

Drake Maye gets destroyed on his first attempt to scramble out of pressure pic.twitter.com/CjtaNtTtKc

— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) September 20, 2024

The pass-protection deficiencies led some to suggest on Boston sports radio last week that if Brissett does get injured, third-string rookie Joe Milton III should play to protect Maye. This idea makes little sense for many reasons. Primarily among them is choosing to play the lowest man on the totem pole would send a poor message to the rest of the team and the New England Patriots fans.

Bailey Zappe chose to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad after being cut at the end of training camp. That left Jacoby Brissett as the lone veteran quarterback in the building. While this might make sense for the 53-man roster, New England could have signed a QB to their practice squad and opted not to. Now they have two openings on the practice squad. Maybe it’s time.

Available Options

P.J. Walker is the most obvious option. He began his career in 2017 as a teammate of Jacoby Brissett on the Indianapolis Colts. Walker’s next stop was with the Carolina Panthers, where current Patriots offensive assistant Ben McAdoo was the offensive coordinator. P.J. Walker played for the Cleveland Browns in 2023. New England OC Alex Van Pelt was the offensive coordinator there, with several other Patriots offensive assistants on the Browns staff as well.

Walker signed with the Seattle Seahawks this past offseason but was among their final cuts. He remains unsigned. Perhaps he is awaiting a spot on an NFL roster to become available, though joining the Patriots practice squad wouldn’t stop him from joining a 53-man roster, including New England’s if an opportunity opens up.

Other realistic options for adding a veteran to the Patriots’ quarterback room include C.J. Beathard, Nate Sudfeld, Trevor Siemian, and Desmond Ridder. It makes perfect sense from this perspective, especially if they are hesitant to let Drake Maye play, but will they use one of those practice squad spots on a fourth QB? Stay tuned.

Also in Saturday’s Patriots Daily:

Patriots Fact/Trivia of the Day

Despite the pressure Jacoby Brissett has been under in 2024, he’s only been sacked nine times. That ties for ninth-most for a New England Patriots quarterback through three games. Drew Bledsoe holds the top spot, getting sacked 15 times in three games to start the 2000 season.

The single-season record for times sacked by a New England Patriots quarterback is held by Tony Eason. He was sacked 59 times in the 1984 season.

Post of the Day

Bill Belichick breaks down the Shanahan-Kubiak offensive stretch scheme on “Inside the NFL“:

Boot and Stretch – the stuff of nightmares for defenses.

Belichick breaks down the Shanahan/Kubiak family coaching tree as only he could 👨‍🏫 pic.twitter.com/i3ff2Xv8un

— Inside the NFL (@insidetheNFL) September 19, 2024

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