New England Patriots: 5 Quarterbacks who could take over in 2021

New England Patriots 2021 QB option No. 1: Matthew Stafford

In what has become a common occurrence over the last handful of seasons, the Detroit Lions are kind of a mess yet again in the 2020 campaign.

With the Lions sitting below the .500 mark and in the bottom half of the NFC North yet again this season, the organization cleaned house when it fired head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn in November while trying to focus on bringing in some fresh voices to the organization to try and finally turn things around.

Part of trying to turn things around might include also cleaning house on the roster this offseason, most notably with veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Stafford still has a few good years left in him if he is surrounded by the appropriate pieces to help him succeed and air the ball out, as the 32-year-old quarterback has shown that ability in Detroit since breaking into the league in 2009.

If the Lions ended up moving on from Stafford and trying to get something in return for him while starting a full rebuild, the Patriots should be a team on the other end of the phone trying to bring him into Foxborough.

As is a big question when it comes to a few other quarterbacks on preview slides in this list, Stafford also carries a large contract that could make things harder for New England if it hopes to bring Stafford in to lead the offense this offseason. Stafford signed a five-year, $135 million contract extension in 2017 and that contract will run through the 2020 campaign.

With questions remaining at quarterback in New England, Stafford is exactly the type of quarterback that Bill Belichick might try and bring into the team to take things over in 2021 and beyond. If Stafford becomes available, watch out for the Patriots in the pursuit of acquiring the veteran quarterback.