Patriots make changes at QB behind Drake Maye

The New England Patriots know they have their QB1 in Drake Maye.

He's been in the NFL for only two seasons, and he's already a two-time Pro Bowler and an MVP candidate. 

The Patriots, though, are one Maye injury away from either a significant losing streak or even a losing season. That may sound shocking since they're coming off a Super Bowl run, but that's life in the NFL. The health of your QB1 can literally make or break seasons.

That's what makes QB2 arguably one of the most important jobs on an NFL team, and the Patriots decided to switch things up in that regard on Monday.

Joshua Dobbs was the No. 2 quarterback behind Maye in 2025, but he has now been released. Instead, the Patriots are going to be giving Tommy DeVito a promotion.

DeVito was the QB3 behind Maye and Dobbs last season, but he signed a two-year, $4.4M contract with the team earlier this month. 

According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, the role of QB3 in New England will be filled later this offseason. With that in mind, one has to wonder if the Patriots might take a flyer late in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Tommy DeVito to be new QB2 for New England Patriots 

This move seems to be financial in nature, though DeVito arguably has the higher upside at 27 years old to Dobbs' 31.

Dobbs was scheduled to earn a base salary of $3.2M in 2026 with a $4.75M salary cap hit. 

Either way, neither player got much experience behind Maye last season, so it would behoove the Pats to get DeVito plenty of snaps in the preseason.

Dobbs played in four games, but he was mostly in the game for the victory formation. DeVito, who started eight games between 2023 and 2024 for the New York Giants, didn't take a single snap in 2025.