The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are back in the Super Bowl after overcoming the departures of their iconic quarterbacks.
It was Tom Brady and Russell Wilson at QB for the Pats and Seahawks when these teams faced off in Super Bowl 49. Brady won that matchup and two additional Super Bowl titles before leaving New England in 2020. Wilson never returned to the Super Bowl before being traded in 2022.
On Feb. 8, Drake Maye and Sam Darnold will start at QB for the Patriots and Seahawks in Super Bowl 60. The two organizations took very different approaches to finding their Super Bowl signal-callers and building a winning roster around them.
Here’s a look back at how the Pats and Seahawks went from Brady and Wilson to Maye and Darnold:
Patriots: From Tom Brady to Drake Maye
On March 17, 2020, Tom Brady took to social media to announce that his “football journey will take place elsewhere.” Three days later, he officially signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady’s departure left 2019 fourth-rounder Jarrett Stidham and longtime NFL backup QB Brian Hoyer as the only quarterbacks on New England’s active roster as free agency began. After months of speculation about who would succeed Brady, the Patriots turned to a former MVP.
2020: Cam Newton
USA TODAY Sports
USA TODAY Sports Cam Newton went 7-8 as the Patriots’ starting QB in his lone season with the organization.
On July 8, the organization announced the signing of ex-Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton. The 2011 No. 1 overall pick won the Patriots’ starting job with ease during training camp, beating out both Stidham and Hoyer for the role.
Newton went 7-8 in his 15 starts for the Patriots in 2020. He totaled 2,657 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while rushing for 592 yards and 12 TDs. New England finished the campaign with a 7-9 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Meanwhile, Brady led the Bucs to a Super Bowl title in his first season with the team.
2021-23: Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe
Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports The Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe era was mostly one to forget for Patriots fans.
The Patriots released Newton the following summer after their first-round draft pick, Mac Jones, won the starting QB job in camp. Taken 15th overall, Jones was the first QB drafted by New England in Round 1 since Drew Bledsoe (No. 1 overall) in 1993.
Jones started all 17 games for the Patriots in 2021, leading them back into the playoffs with a 10-7 record. The Alabama product threw for 3,801 yards, 22 TDs, and 13 INTs en route to a Pro Bowl nod.
New England fell to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round, but Jones’ rookie season inspired hope that the Patriots found their permanent Brady replacement. Not so fast.
Longtime Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left the team after the 2021 season for the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching position. Former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was put in charge of the offense, and special teams coordinator Joe Judge was named the quarterbacks coach. Neither had previous offensive coaching experience.
Predictably, the Patriots’ offense took a significant step back as a result. Jones failed to match his impressive rookie season, posting a 6-8 record in his 14 starts under center.
Fourth-round rookie Bailey Zappe made his NFL debut in Week 4 vs. Green Bay with Jones and Hoyer injured. He played well in the overtime loss, then won his first two career starts against the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns to spark a QB controversy in Foxboro.
Jones returned as the Patriots’ starting QB in Week 7 for Monday Night Football vs. the Chicago Bears. He struggled in his first game back, and after an interception, head coach Bill Belichick opted to roll with Zappe in the second quarter. Zappe led the Pats to a pair of TD drives but went on to throw two interceptions of his own in a 33-14 defeat. Jones started the rest of the season.
Zappe was waived before the 2023 season, but he re-signed to the practice squad and later rejoined the active roster as Jones’ backup. Bill O’Brien was hired as New England’s offensive coordinator, but his presence did little to solve the problems at the QB position.
The Jones-Zappe drama was reignited in Week 4 of the 2023 season after Jones’ woeful performance against the Dallas Cowboys. Zappe made a few more relief appearances before replacing Jones as the starter in Week 13, a 6-0 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Zappe started the remainder of the season as New England finished with a 4-13 record, its worst of the Belichick era and the organization’s worst season since 1992.
2024: Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye
Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports The Patriots selected Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
On March 14, 2024, the Patriots traded Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round draft pick. Zappe was waived in August as part of the final roster cuts.
It was a major transition period for the franchise as it parted ways with six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick, who was replaced by first-year head coach Jerod Mayo. Belichick’s departure also left New England with a new de facto general manager, Eliot Wolf.
Wolf & Co. addressed the QB position via free agency, signing veteran Jacoby Brissett for his second stint with the team. They also used their No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to select North Carolina QB Drake Maye.
Brissett was named the Patriots’ starting QB out of training camp. He started the team’s first five games, posting a 1-4 record before being replaced by Maye. The rookie signal-caller went 3-9 as a starter, but he showed promise with 2,276 yards, 15 TDs, and 10 INTs. He also rushed for 421 yards and two TDs as New England finished with a 4-13 record for the second straight season.
2025: Drake Maye
David Butler II-Imagn Images
David Butler II-Imagn Images Drake Maye played at an MVP level in his first full NFL season.
Jerod Mayo was fired after one season as Patriots head coach and replaced by Mike Vrabel, a three-time Super Bowl-champion linebacker with New England who served as head coach of the Tennessee Titans from 2018 to 2023. McDaniels returned to Foxboro as Vrabel’s offensive coordinator and was tasked with maximizing Maye’s potential.
With Maye penciled in atop the depth chart, Vrabel and the Patriots spent their offseason building around their new franchise QB. They used their No. 4 overall draft pick to select LSU left tackle Will Campbell, then added weapons in Rounds 2 and 3 with running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Kyle Williams. In free agency, the Patriots signed star wide receiver Stefon Diggs and veteran right tackle Morgan Moses in addition to several defensive upgrades.
The Maye and Vrabel era started shaky with the Patriots beginning the season 1-2, but they didn’t lose another game until Week 15 vs. Buffalo. They finished with a 14-3 record and their first AFC East title since 2019.
Maye thrived in McDaniels’ system, completing a league-best 72 percent of his passes for 4,394 yards, 31 TDs, and eight picks. He also rushed for 450 yards and four TDs during his MVP-caliber season.
The No. 2-seed Patriots went on to defeat the L.A. Chargers, Houston Texans, and Denver Broncos to win their first AFC Championship since 2018.
Seahawks: From Russell Wilson to Sam Darnold
Two years after Brady left the Patriots, the Seahawks parted ways with their own franchise quarterback.
On March 16, 2022, the Seahawks traded Russell Wilson and a fourth-round pick to the Denver Broncos in exchange for two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-rounder, quarterback Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and tight end Noah Fant. They re-signed veteran QB Geno Smith, who beat out Lock for the starting job in camp.
2022-24: Geno Smith
Getty Images
Getty Images Geno Smith revitalized his career in Seattle, but failed to lead the Seahawks into the playoffs in 2023 and 2024.
Smith went 9-8 in his first season as Seattle’s starter, completing 69.8 percent of his passes for 4,282 yards (breaking Wilson’s single-season franchise record), 30 TDs, and 11 INTs. The former New York Jets QB was selected to his first Pro Bowl and named the 2022 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, though the Seahawks went on to lose to the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card Round.
Smith remained Seattle’s starting QB through 2024, and while his performance was solid, the Seahawks failed to clinch a postseason berth in his final two seasons with the organization.
2025: Sam Darnold
USATSI
USATSI Sam Darnold has posted a 14-3 record in back-to-back seasons with the Vikings and Seahawks.
On March 13, 2025, the Seahawks traded Smith to the Raiders for a third-round draft pick. That same day, they signed veteran QB Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract.
Darnold was coming off a remarkable season in which he led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 record. Like Smith, Darnold was once labeled a bust during his Jets tenure, but he proved his 2024 performance wasn’t a fluke by propelling Seattle to a 14-3 record in 2025.
Darnold completed 67.7 percent of his passes for 4.048 yards, 25 TDs, and 14 INTs this season. He led Seattle to a first-round playoff bye and its first Super Bowl appearance since 2015 with playoff wins over the 49ers and L.A. Rams.
Takeaways
The Patriots and Seahawks have proven that there are multiple ways to build around a quarterback and field a Super Bowl contender.
While New England spent big in free agency and used the draft to find their next franchise QB, Seattle splurged at the QB position and bolstered other areas of their roster via strong drafts. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, running back Kenneth Walker, cornerback Devon Witherspoon, and safety Nick Emmanwori are among the Seahawks standouts still playing on their rookie contracts.
The Patriots spent approximately $364 million in free agency last offseason, the most in the NFL. The Seahawks spent about $206 million, but almost half of that ($100.5 million) was given to Darnold.
Two very different paths led to the same destination: Santa Clara, Calif. for Super Bowl 60.
