Everyone talks about the GOAT. It makes sense, right? Tom Brady basically redefined what winning looks like in a cold-weather stadium by the woods of Foxborough. But if you think New England QB history is just a twenty-year highlight reel of TB12, you're missing the weird, gritty, and sometimes painful soul of this franchise.
Honestly, the story starts long before the hoodied Bill Belichick arrived. Before the six rings. Before the dynasty.
It starts with guys like Butch Songin and Babe Parilli throwing a leather ball around in the 1960s for a team that didn't even have a permanent home. They were the Boston Patriots back then. They played at Boston University. They played at Fenway Park. They were nomads. And their quarterbacks? They were tough.
The Pioneers of the AFL Era
Babe Parilli was the first guy who actually felt like a "franchise" quarterback. Between 1961 and 1967, Parilli threw for over 16,000 yards. That sounds like a Tuesday for modern passers, but in the 60s? That was huge. He led the team to its first-ever title game in 1936. They lost 51-10 to the San Diego Chargers, which is a scoreline that still stings for the few fans old enough to remember it.
Then came the 70s. This is where New England QB history gets frustrating.
Jim Plunkett was the "savior." He was the first overall pick in 1971. He had the Heisman from Stanford. He had the arm. He also had an offensive line that was basically a sieve. Plunkett got hit. A lot. He eventually left and won two Super Bowls with the Raiders, which is the most "Patriots" thing to happen before the 2000s. We couldn't keep the good ones healthy or happy.
The Legend of Steve Grogan
If you ask a Patriots fan over the age of 50 who their favorite player is, half of them will say Steve Grogan.
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The man was a tank. He played with a neck brace. He played with broken bones. He held the record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (12 in 1976) for thirty-five years until Cam Newton finally broke it in 2020. Grogan wasn't the most polished passer—he threw more interceptions than touchdowns—but he was the heartbeat of the team for 16 seasons.
He stayed through the 2-14 seasons. He stayed through the lean years. He was there when Tony Eason took the team to Super Bowl XX only to get dismantled by the '85 Bears. Grogan even came off the bench in that Super Bowl because Eason was so overwhelmed he didn't complete a single pass.
The Bledsoe Revolution and the 1993 Turning Point
By the early 90s, the Patriots were a joke. They were almost moving to St. Louis. Then Robert Kraft bought the team, and everything changed.
The 1993 draft brought Drew Bledsoe. He was the prototype: 6'5", huge arm, California cool. Bledsoe made the Patriots relevant again. He took them to a Super Bowl in 1996 against Brett Favre and the Packers. We lost, but it felt different. We weren't the "Patsies" anymore.
Bledsoe signed a record-breaking $103 million contract in 2001. He was the face of the franchise. And then Mo Lewis happened.
One hit. Week 2. 2001. A sheared blood vessel.
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That’s when the skinny kid from Michigan, pick 199, stepped onto the field. Most people think Brady took the job and never looked back, but it wasn't that simple. There was a huge debate in New England about whether a healthy Bledsoe should get his job back. Even when Brady won the Super Bowl that year, people weren't sure he was "the guy."
The Brady Epoch: Numbers That Don't Feel Real
We don't need to spend 1,000 words on Brady's stats because you know them. 74,571 yards in a Patriots uniform. 541 touchdowns. Six rings. But what’s often forgotten in New England QB history are the guys who filled the gaps.
Remember 2008?
Brady goes down with an ACL tear in the first quarter of the first game. Enter Matt Cassel. Cassel hadn't started a game since high school. Literally. He spent his college career at USC backing up Heisman winners. Yet, he led the Patriots to an 11-5 record. They missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker, but that season is a testament to the system Belichick built.
Then you have the "Bridge" era:
- Jimmy Garoppolo: The heir apparent who was traded because Brady wouldn't age.
- Jacoby Brissett: The rookie who won a game with a messed-up thumb during Brady’s 2016 suspension.
- Brian Hoyer: The ultimate professional backup who had more stints in New England than most people have jobs.
Life After the GOAT: The Search for a New Identity
When Brady left for Tampa in 2020, the floor fell out. Cam Newton came in on a league-minimum deal. He was fun, he was charismatic, but his arm was shot. He rushed for 12 touchdowns, tying Grogan's old record, but the team went 7-9. It was the first losing season since 2000.
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Then came the Mac Jones era. It started so well. A Pro Bowl nod as a rookie! We thought we had the next "smart, accurate" guy. But coaching changes and a lack of weapons turned him into a ghost of himself. By 2023, he was benched for Bailey Zappe, and the vibes in Foxborough were at an all-time low.
Drake Maye and the 2026 Reality
Now, things feel different. As of early 2026, we are in the Drake Maye era.
Drafted third overall in 2024, Maye didn't start right away. Jacoby Brissett—the ultimate full-circle Patriot—took the hits early on. But when Maye stepped in, the athleticism was undeniable. He’s not a Brady clone; he’s a modern playmaker. He can run. He can throw off-platform.
In the Wild Card round on January 13, 2026, Maye led the Patriots to a 16-3 win over the Chargers. It wasn't flashy. It was 200 yards and a lot of smart decisions. It felt like the Patriots were finally moving out of the shadow of the past.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Fan
If you want to truly understand this team's lineage, stop looking at just the rings.
- Watch Steve Grogan highlights: You’ll see why "Patriot Way" toughness existed long before Belichick.
- Study the 2008 Matt Cassel season: It proves how much the surrounding roster and coaching matter, even without a Hall of Famer.
- Look at Jim Plunkett's career arc: It's a cautionary tale of how a bad environment can ruin a great talent—something the current front office is trying to avoid with Maye.
- Compare Mac Jones vs. Drake Maye: Notice the difference between a "high floor" QB and a "high ceiling" QB. The Patriots have officially pivoted to the latter.
The history of the quarterback in New England is a cycle of searching, finding a legend, and then searching again. We're currently in the "finding" phase. Whether Maye becomes the next cornerstone or just another name on the list of thirty starters depends on the stability around him.
The best thing you can do as a fan or a student of the game is to respect the guys who took the hits before the glory arrived. They paved the way for the banners. Without Babe Parilli's grit or Steve Grogan's neck brace, the culture that Brady inherited wouldn't have existed.
Keep an eye on the 2026 offseason. The Patriots have the cap space to finally surround Maye with the elite weapons that Mac Jones never had. That will be the true test of whether history repeats itself in the best way possible.