The New England Patriots find themselves in a much different position than they were at this time last season. After overhauling the roster in Year 1 under Mike Vrabel, the Patriots turned things around and advanced to Super Bowl LX.
Entering free agency in 2026, the list of needs is significantly shorter for Vrabel and the front office. As they now look to further upgrade the roster and fill just a handful of holes, the Patriots are projected to have more than $40 million in cap space to work with.
Following a breakout season from Drake Maye, quarterback is no longer a position requiring a major investment. However, the Patriots could still see the depth altered behind their franchise signal-caller.
Patriots’ current quarterback situation
Determining whether Drake Maye was the team’s franchise quarterback was perhaps the biggest question the Patriots needed to answer in 2025. That box was emphatically checked as Maye had a MVP-type season.
Behind Maye, the Patriots signed veteran Joshua Dobbs to a two-year contract last offseason. Dobbs went on to play just 43 snaps in relief as Maye started all 21 games last season. New England also claimed Tommy DeVito off of waivers following cutdown day in August and saw the 27-year old serve as the emergency third QB throughout the year.
New England is set to return the whole room with Dobbs under contract and DeVito, who has expressed interest in returning, set to be a restricted free agent this offseason. But, the Patriots could elevate DeVito to the primary backup role as releasing Dobbs would free up over $3.5 million on the salary cap.
If that’s the path New England takes, they could be in the market for a third camp arm — which likely would come late in the draft. There are also some depth options available in a largely non-impressive free agency class.
Patriots free agency targets at quarterback
Sam Howell (UFA): A former UNC Tar Heel himself, Howell is one of Drake Maye’s best friends off of the football field. That could come with pros and cons depending on how one views the situation. On the field, the former top prospect has started just 18 games over his first four seasons in the league. After serving as the Seahawks backup in 2024, Howell was traded twice last offseason (first to Minnesota and then to Philadelphia) and was either active or the emergency third quarterback in every game for the Eagles.
Jeff Driskel (UFA): The well traveled Driskel has been with six teams over the last seven seasons where he went on to appear in 25 total games (12 starts). That included a 2023 stint in Cleveland where he overlapped with Patriots’ QB coach Ashton Grant. The 32-year old would fill the veteran-role in the quarterback room if Dobbs was released.
Trey Lance (UFA): If the Patriots are looking for perhaps a higher-upside backup, Trey Lance will hit the open market after spending the last two seasons backing up Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert, respectively. The former 3rd overall pick has started just six games in his career and thrown 200 passes, and his dual-threat ability could make him an important part of the team’s practice/scout-team work.