5 QBs New England Patriots should pivot to after losing out on Baker Mayfield

The New England Patriots need a new quarterback, and options are continuing to dwindle. Here's a look at the top quarterbacks available for New England after quarterback Baker Mayfield signed a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

By Kinnu Singh | Mar 10, 2024

NFL Combine - Portraits / Todd Rosenberg/GettyImages

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4. Tyrod Taylor

Previous team: New York Giants
Age: 35
2023 Stats: five starts, 64.4 comp. pct, five touchdowns, three interceptions

Tyrod Taylor's personal career has been extremely unlucky, but he has been extremely lucky for his teams. Put simply, Tyrod Taylor is a king-maker.

Taylor began his career with the Baltimore Ravens as a sixth-round draft pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He earned a Super Bowl ring as a backup quarterback behind Joe Flacco, who guided the Ravens to a Super Bowl championship in 2012.

In 2015, Tyrod moved on to the Buffalo Bills. He earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2015 and led the Bills to a 22-20 record in three seasons. In 2017, he led Buffalo to its first playoff berth since 1999. The Bills elected to draft a quarterback with similar athletic ability to Taylor: Josh Allen.

Taylor moved on to the Cleveland Browns, who selected Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Taylor began the 2018 season as the starter, but Mayfield took over after Taylor suffered an injury in Week 3.

In 2019, Taylor moved on to the Los Angeles Chargers. Taylor began the 2020 NFL season as the starting quarterback, but a team doctor accidentally punctured Taylor's lung prior to Week 2. Rookie quarterback Justin Herbert stepped in and took over for the remainder of the year.

That means Taylor has been connected to the rise of Joe Flacco, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Justin Herbert. Taylor may just be the greatest bridge quarterback since Steve DeBerg, who started before Joe Montana with the San Francisco 49ers, John Elway with the Denver Broncos, and Steve Young with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

If the Patriots hope to find their next franchise quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick in April's draft, perhaps Taylor could serve as a lucky charm once again. Then again, Taylor didn't provide much luck to the Houston Texans in 2021 and 2022, or to the New York Giants in 2023.

Probability: ■□□□□□□□□□ 10%
Grade: ■■□□□□□□□□ 20%

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