Jerod Mayo on Patriots quarterback: 'We have a very strong room'

Before the start of the 2024 draft, the Patriots had three quarterbacks on the roster. They now have five.

Reporters asked coach Jerrod Mayo if he envisions keeping five players on the roster for the offseason program, or if someone could be moved.

“Well, that hasn’t come up yet,” Mayo said, via a text distributed by the team. “Right now, we're still on the phone right now with potential free agents coming here soon. We'll see how all the dominoes go, but at the same time, you want to have a strong group. You want to have a strong room. I would say the way it looks With it now, we have a very strong room.

They already had Jacoby Brissett, Billy Zappe and Nathan Rourke. The Patriots added Drake Maye with the third overall pick and Joe Milton III in the sixth round, six spots ahead of Tom Brady's infamous 199th pick.

“We're in the business of trying to bring in good football players, and Milton happens to be one of them,” Mayo said. “He obviously understands that we took a three-year-old quarterback in Drake. The only thing we preach is competition. It's all about competition, and nothing is given. It's all earned. That's how we thought about the process.”

Given his size (six-five and 235), can Milton play other positions?

“Yes, we'll have to see how that plays out once we put the pads on, but we drafted him as a quarterback,” Mayo said.

Rourke will likely be the first to leave, with Zappi likely to stay through training camp and the preseason. On game days, Maye, Brissett and Milton will likely be the emergency quarterbacks on game day. Unless he is on the active roster in order to contribute elsewhere.

As Mayo said, we'll have to see how that plays out.