The New England Patriots seem to have no idea who their starting quarterback will be in 2021, but that has not stopped oddsmakers from speculating. Interestingly enough, some of them feel the most likely option to start for the Patriots in Week 1 is currently on another team’s roster.
SportsBetting.com released some odds on Wednesday for who will take the first snap of the 2021 season for the Patriots. Marcus Mariota is listed as the favorite at 5:2. Jacoby Brissett is a close second at 7:2 followed by Jarrett Stidham at 4:1 and Cam Newton at 5:1.
Here’s the full list:
Mariota has been mentioned in trade talks for a few weeks now. He has a salary-cap hit of more than $10 million for next season, and all indications are that the Las Vegas Raiders are committed to Derek Carr. That is a lot of money to pay a backup quarterback, so the Raiders might be willing to trade Mariota.
The Patriots will almost certainly draft a quarterback, but they currently have the 15th overall pick. It’s unlikely that any QB they would select at that spot would be ready to start in Week 1.
Bill Belichick seems determined to not overpay for a quarterback, and some believe he is waiting for the market to regulate itself a bit before pulling off a trade. Mariota could be a potential target, or they may decide to go with something more familiar.
More must-reads: