Patriots Predicted to Make Surprising QB Move

Drake Maye will be the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots next season. That much we know. But who will be his backup? And how many signal-callers will the Patriots retain?

Typically, teams keep three quarterbacks on their respective rosters to guard against injuries, so you would think Maye, free-agent signing Joshua Dobbs and undrafted rookie Ben Wooldridge would all make the cut. However, Sophie Weller of NESN sees things a bit differently.

Wells is actually projecting New England to actually keep only two quarterbacks heading into 2025, and she feels that Wooldridge will be the odd man out.

"This one is simple. Drake Maye is the clear starter for the Patriots this season, while Josh Dobbs was brought in to be a veteran presence in the room. Ben Wooldridge could be a solid practice-squad option, but it’s unlikely New England will carry three quarterbacks on the active roster, as they did last year," Weller wrote.

That Weller is expecting the Pats to roll with Dobbs over Wooldridge is obviously not shocking. Dobbs is a veteran, after all. But going with only two quarterbacks is always a dangerous game to play.

What happens if Maye gets hurt? We saw that last season when he suffered a concussion during the Patriots win over the New York Jets in the second half of the year. That would leave New England without an emergency option behind Dobbs, which is always a scary prospect.

Perhaps the Pats are not entirely enamored with Wooldridge, who is coming off of a 2024 campaign at the University of Louisiana in which he threw for 2,453 yards, 17 touchdowns and six interceptions. But in that case, the Patriots could just look elsewhere for a No. 3 option.