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).
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.
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The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right in descending order:
| 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) |
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 |
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 |
- a 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.
- b Since the 1978 NFL season, all teams have played 16-game schedules.[66]
- c Strikes by the National Football League Players Association in the 1982 and 1987 seasons resulted in shortened seasons (9- and 15-game schedules, respectively).[67]
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