# List of New England Patriots starting quarterbacks

This is a list of every starting quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL).

## History

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.

## Regular season

The number of games they started during the season is listed to the right in descending order:
| Season(s) | Quarterback(s) |
| Boston Patriots |||
| 1960 (AFL) | Butch Songin (12) / Tom Greene (2) |
| 1961 (AFL) | Babe Parilli (8) / Butch Songin (6) |
| 1962 (AFL) | Babe Parilli (10) / Tom Yewcic (4) |
| 1963 (AFL) | Babe Parilli (14) |
| 1964 (AFL) | Babe Parilli (14) |
| 1965 (AFL) | Babe Parilli (13) / Eddie Wilson (1) |
| 1966 (AFL) | Babe Parilli (14) |
| 1967 (AFL) | Babe Parilli (11) / Don Trull (3) |
| 1968 (AFL) | Mike Taliaferro (7) / Tom Sherman (7) |
| 1969 (AFL) | Mike Taliaferro (14) |
| 1970 | Joe Kapp (10) / Mike Taliaferro (4) |
| New England Patriots |||
| 1971 | Jim Plunkett (14) |
| 1972 | Jim Plunkett (14) |
| 1973 | Jim Plunkett (14) |
| 1974 | Jim Plunkett (14) |
| 1975 | Steve Grogan (7) / Jim Plunkett (5) / Neil Graff (2) |
| 1976 | Steve Grogan (14) |
| 1977 | Steve Grogan (14) |
| 1978 | Steve Grogan (16) |
| 1979 | Steve Grogan (16) |
| 1980 | Steve Grogan (12) / Matt Cavanaugh (4) |
| 1981 | Matt Cavanaugh (8) / Steve Grogan (7) / Tom Owen (1) |
| 1982 | Steve Grogan (6) / Matt Cavanaugh (3) |
| 1983 | Steve Grogan (12) / Tony Eason (4) |
| 1984 | Tony Eason (13) / Steve Grogan (3) |
| 1985 | Tony Eason (10) / Steve Grogan (6) |
| 1986 | Tony Eason (14) / Steve Grogan (2) |
| 1987 | Steve Grogan (6) / Tom Ramsey (3) / Tony Eason (3) / Bob Bleier (2) / Doug Flutie (1) |
| 1988 | Doug Flutie (9) / Steve Grogan (4) / Tony Eason (2) / Tom Ramsey (1) |
| 1989 | Steve Grogan (6) / Marc Wilson (4) / Tony Eason (3) / Doug Flutie (3) |
| 1990 | Marc Wilson (6) / Tommy Hodson (6) / Steve Grogan (4) |
| 1991 | Hugh Millen (13) / Tommy Hodson (3) |
| 1992 | Hugh Millen (7) / Scott Zolak (4) / Tommy Hodson (3) / Jeff Carlson (2) |
| 1993 | Drew Bledsoe (12) / Scott Secules (4) |
| 1994 | Drew Bledsoe (16) |
| 1995 | Drew Bledsoe (15) / Scott Zolak (1) |
| 1996 | Drew Bledsoe (16) |
| 1997 | Drew Bledsoe (16) |
| 1998 | Drew Bledsoe (14) / Scott Zolak (2) |
| 1999 | Drew Bledsoe (16) |
| 2000 | Drew Bledsoe (16) |
| 2001 | Tom Brady (14) / Drew Bledsoe (2) |
| 2002 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2003 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2004 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2005 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2006 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2007 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2008 | Matt Cassel (15) / Tom Brady (1) |
| 2009 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2010 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2011 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2012 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2013 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2014 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2015 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2016 | Tom Brady (12) / Jacoby Brissett (2) / Jimmy Garoppolo (2) |
| 2017 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2018 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2019 | Tom Brady (16) |
| 2020 | Cam Newton (15) / Brian Hoyer (1) |
| 2021 | Mac Jones (17) |
| 2022 | Mac Jones (14) / Bailey Zappe (2) / Brian Hoyer (1) |
| 2023 | Mac Jones (11) / Bailey Zappe (6) |
| 2024 | Drake Maye (12) / Jacoby Brissett (5) |

## Postseason

| Season(s) | Quarterback(s) |
| 1963 (AFL) | Babe Parilli (1–1) |
| 1976 | Steve Grogan (0–1) |
| 1978 | Steve Grogan (0–1) |
| 1982 | Steve Grogan (0–1) |
| 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 | Tom Brady (3–0) |
| 2004 | Tom Brady (3–0) |
| 2005 | Tom Brady (1–1) |
| 2006 | Tom Brady (2–1) |
| 2007 | Tom Brady (2–1) |
| 2009 | Tom Brady (0–1) |
| 2010 | Tom Brady (0–1) |
| 2011 | Tom Brady (2–1) |
| 2012 | Tom Brady (1–1) |
| 2013 | Tom Brady (1–1) |
| 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) |

## Most games as starting quarterback

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 |
| % | 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 |

## Team career passing records

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 |