New England Patriots: When do they get Tom Brady’s replacement?

The New England Patriots are back to square one in the ‘Tom Brady replacement’ plan. When do they make the move to find a true potential successor again?

Everyone thought the New England Patriots had their successor to Tom Brady in Jimmy Garoppolo — then he was traded. Then the stars aligned and they had the chance to draft Lamar Jackson at No.  31 — but they didn’t take him. This begs the question, what’s the post-Brady plan?

Tom Brady isn’t slowing down. He threw for 4,577 yards and 32 touchdowns (compared to eight interceptions) while completing 66.3 percent of his passes last season. Oh, and he took home his third MVP award.

All that being said, Tom Terrific is 40, and he’ll be 41 before the start of the 2018 season. At some point Father Time will win. Whether it’s a decline in production or his body breaking down, or even just not wanting to play anymore something will stop Tom Brady. When that happens the Patriots need to have a plan set to replace him. That way they can avoid the miserable post-franchise quarterback purgatory some teams face.

Currently on the roster behind Brady is Brian Hoyer (a 32-year old journeyman). Hoyer has proven to be a solid NFL quarterback, but he’s not going to lead a team to a Super Bowl. Then there’s Danny Etling. A rookie from LSU that the Patriots selected in the seventh round of the 2018 draft.

Anything is possible for Etling, as late-round quarterbacks have blossomed into stars before (see Brady). That would be incredible for a team to find a hidden gem and have him replace a star twice-in-a-row though. The smart money would be on the Patriots drafting a quarterback early to groom as a potential replacement.

Again, Brady will be 41 before the start of the season. That means time’s running out to draft someone and have him learn under arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time for at least one season.

With that in mind, it’s safe to assume the Patriots will be drafting a quarterback in the early rounds sometimes between the next two seasons. The smart move for them would be to draft a quarterback this season. If he learns under Brady for two seasons, it’s only going to help more. With Brady’s ever-growing age though, there’s no reason to take chances. He could decide his career is over at the drop of a hat, and why be stuck in a rough position when you don’t have to be.

Next: NFL QB Power Rankings 2018: Pre-training camp

The New England Patriots are going to have to accept that life without Tom Brady is coming soon. It’s time to have a contingency plan. The 2019 NFL draft is the perfect place to look.