The New England Patriots were extremely aggressive this offseason with Mike Vrabel at the helm. They entered the offseason with the most cap space in the league and they made sure to spend a ton of it.
They have signed Milton Williams, Stefon Diggs, Carlton Davis, Harold Landry, Morgan Moses, and Garrett Bradbury to name a few.
At the same time, New England has seen multiple players leave town in free agency. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett signed a two-year, $12.5 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals. After spending the 2024 season with New England, Brissett decided to head out west to be Kyler Murray's backup.
Although he was brought in to be a stopgap while Drake Maye learned the ropes early in his rookie season, Brissett started in five games for the Pats but it's officially the Maye show going forward.
In eight games (five starts) last season, Brissett went 95-of-161 (59%) for 826 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and one interception. While he was running the show, the Pats offense was underwhelming and boring.
Things changed once Maye took over. He provided the team with excitement and an uptick in production. In 13 games (12 starts) for the Pats, Maye went 225-of-338 (66.6%) for 2,276 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He also added 421 rushing yards and two rushing scores on the ground.
The entire 2025 season is about seeing Maye continue to take positive steps in his development. The Pats have made sure to prioritize him this offseason and that will continue over the next couple of months.
The need for Brissett is no longer as important. Of course, every team needs a competent backup quarterback but the Pats can find that elsewhere. They didn't need Brissett for that and made the right choice letting him walk.
Fans are excited about Maye going forward that they won't be even thinking about Brissett.