When the new england patriots take the field next season, they will have a new quarterback on their roster; that part seems to be certain. Regardless of whether the latest addition is made by the nfl draft or free agency, it is not a surprise. According to espn insider jeremy fowler, the patriots are preparing to sign current tampa bay buccaneers quarterback baker mayfield, which is likely to be a surprise signing. “the patriots submerged the buccaneers by signing qb baker mayfield,” writes fowler. “and the patriots’ new brain trust, which included lead personnel man eliot wolf and personnel executive alonzo highsmith, was part of the cleveland regime that took mayfield no. 1 in the nfl. “in the 2018 draft, there is no one.” Wolf and highsmith spent two seasons in cleveland together (2018-19), with the former serving as the assistant general manager and the latter as vice president of player personnel.
Both will play vital roles in the patriots’ front office. Wolf joined the patriots’ front office in 2022 as the director of scouting, and after bill belichick’s departure, he has risen the ranks to become the de facto general manager in the team. Highsmith also joined wolf in foxboro this offseason as a staff executive. They aren’t the only ones in new england with direct links to mayfield, as even current patriots offensive coordinator alex van pelt spent time in cleveland with the now buccaneers signal-caller. Although previous connections between staffers and players don’t necessarily translate to an interest in the said player, it does, at the very least, make mayfield’s departure from tampa to foxboro more likely.
The former no. 1 was the most popular. The buccaneers’ top pick is coming off the best year of his career. As the buccaneers finished a 9-8 record, the 28-year-old ran for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns, and ten interceptions in 17 games. Mayfield even helped the buccaneers win a playoff game by defeating the philadelphia eagles 32-9 in the wild card before falling to the detroit lions in the next round. With his resurgence in tampa, he is expected to be one of the best quarterbacks available in free agency this offseason. This is a remarkable turnaround, as the carolina panthers cut mayfield after the season 1-5, where he would join the los angeles rams as their starting quarterback in the absence of then-injured matthew stafford.
