New England Patriots Quarterback History

The Boston Patriots, a team that had played in the American Football League, changed their name to the New England Patriots in 1971. As a member of the National Football League, the New England Patriots have been blessed with stability at the quarterback position, including one signal-caller who has taken them to four Super Bowls and three NFL championships.

  1. 1960 through 1967

    • When the Patriots began their initial AFL season, Edward "Butch" Songin was quarterback. A product of Boston College, Songin played for parts of two years with Boston until Vito "Babe" Parilli took over. Parilli made the AFL's Pro Bowl team three times, including in 1964 when he threw for 3,465 yards and 31 touchdowns. In his seven seasons as a Patriot, Parilli threw 132 touchdown passes and 138 interceptions.

    1968 through 1974

    • After Parilli, the club suffered through dismal seasons with the likes of Tom Sherman, Mike Taliaferro and Joe Kapp behind center. In 1970, Kapp threw for just three scores versus 17 interceptions, and the team was desperate to find a quarterback who could make it competitive again. The New England Patriots chose Stanford's Jim Plunkett in the first round of the 1971 NFL draft. He had a strong arm but a penchant for tossing interceptions, throwing 87 during his four years with the team. Plunkett was skilled enough to make the Patriots exciting, but a record of 7-7 in 1974 was his best with New England.

    1975 through 1992

    • Steve Grogan, drafted out of Kansas State in 1975, took over the position that year and remained a Patriot until 1990, throwing for 26,886 yards and leading the team to the playoffs in 1976, 1978 and 1982. Grogan, a skilled runner, rushed for 35 career touchdowns. Tony Eason took the starter's role from Grogan and held it from 1984 to 1986. Eason led the team to the 1986 Super Bowl, a 46-10 loss to Chicago. New England went 9-39 from 1990 to 1992 with Marc Wilson and Hugh Millen at quarterback.

    Drew Bledsoe

    • The franchise selected Washington State's Drew Bledsoe in the 1993 draft. He became a prolific passer, throwing for more than 4,000 yards in a season three times and for a team-record 29,657 yards in his nine years with the club. Bledsoe guided New England to the 1997 Super Bowl won by Green Bay, 35-21. Bledsoe finished 63-60 as a starter with New England.

    Tom Brady

    • New England chose Michigan quarterback Tom Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 draft, and he has gone on to a record-breaking career. He took over the starting job when Bledsoe was injured in 2001 and led the Patriots to victory against St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI. Brady followed that with NFL championships in 2003 and 2004. In 2007, Brady guided the team to a 16-0 regular-season record and then to the Super Bowl, where it was upset by the New York Giants. He threw for 4,806 yards and an NFL-record 50 touchdowns during that regular season. Brady missed most of the 2008 season because of injury. As of June 2009, he was 87-24 as a Patriots starter and 14-3 in the playoffs. Matt Cassel, his fill-in for 2008, performed admirably, throwing for 21 touchdowns in Brady's absence.