Veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett made five starts for the New England Patriots in 2024 before … [+]
Jacoby Brissett is no stranger to a one-year deal.
The veteran quarterback agreed to those terms with the Miami Dolphins in 2021, the Cleveland Browns in 2022 and the Washington Commanders in 2023. The trend continued in 2024 as he returned to the organization that drafted him and traded him on an $8 million pact featuring $6.5 million guaranteed.
A handful of starts followed with the New England Patriots last season before rookie Drake Maye, an eventual Pro Bowl alternate, took over in October. The team’s record stood at 1-4 by then and it would stand at 4-13 by January.
But Brissett lived up to his role as a captain behind the No. 3 overall pick out of the University of North Carolina. He had been under center for a 16-10 upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the opener. For three quarters, he had also stepped in to go 15-of-24 passing for 132 yards on the way to a 25-22 comeback win over the New York Jets.
Unrestricted free agency now looms again for Brissett. He was sacked 18 times and endured a long line of hits this past campaign, completing 59% of his throws for 824 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
The Super Bowl LI champion will have options come March. The Patriots should remain among them, even though shakier depth charts around the league may give way to a better chance to play. The run has spanned 87 games and 53 starts dating back to his rookie fall in Foxborough.
“In all those situations, I never thought of myself as not being the guy, you know?” Brissett told reporters of his NFL journey last June. “I go into every situation as if I’m the starter no matter what the reality is, or the situation is. And I let the chips fall where they may at the end of it. That’s all I can do is worry about myself.”
Bringing back Brissett would not be the need it was last spring after trading Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 2016 draft choice’s experience as a starter, backup and mentor would more so be a luxury in a room featuring NFL sophomores with a combined 742 snaps.
“Being a quarterback in the National Football League, I’ve learned a lot from Jacoby,” Maye said during his New Year’s Day press conference. “He’s been a huge help with studying the call sheet, studying how to prepare, how to handle guys in the locker room, how to handle the huddle and how to kind of have a voice and command. Shoot, even when I’m up here in the media, don’t sound timid or shy. I think I’ve kind of grown into that, and that’s been my personality, but I think it kind of took a while for it to come out.”
Holding a seat alongside Maye is No. 193 overall pick Joe Milton III, whose debut in the season finale versus the Buffalo Bills brought touchdowns by air and ground along with a 75.9% completion rate. The former Michigan Wolverine and Tennessee Volunteer had been the emergency third quarterback on the gameday roster until then. He could potentially be second-in-command moving forward.
But the staff at Gillette Stadium is in new hands. From Jerod Mayo to Mike Vrabel as head coach, Alex Van Pelt to Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator, plus T.C. McCartney to Ashton Grant as quarterbacks coach, the early stages of the offseason have brought an overhaul.
The 32-year-old Brissett overlapped with New England’s new offensive coordinator during his initial stint with the club. He also overlapped with New England’s new quarterbacks coach while in Cleveland.
