New Patriots TE has humorous take on quarterback uncertainty

Newly signed New England Patriots wide receiver K.J. Osborn said earlier this week he trusts that individuals such as head coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will "take care" of the club's uncertain quarterback situation this offseason. 

Tight end Austin Hooper also joined the Patriots this month and took a more humorous approach while speaking about the situation during a Thursday video call. 

"I’m not the (general manager)," Hooper directly said, as shared by Chris Mason of MassLive. "I’m not the head coach. I don’t know what their plan is for draft day. They haven’t tipped their cards for me." 

The Patriots traded 2021 first-round draft pick Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and New England may plan to use either Jacoby Brissett or backup Bailey Zappe as a bridge option at the position who would start ahead of a rookie taken by the club via the third overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

It's understandable Hooper would be confident in his ability to eventually build chemistry with an unnamed signal-caller in New England's offense, as he previously had Van Pelt as a coordinator when both were with the Cleveland Browns during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. 

"If you’re in the right spot at the right time, the quarterback loves that," Hooper explained. "If you do that consistently, he’ll like you more. It’s not that deep, I swear. Everyone wants to go into relationships and everything. It’s just like, hey man, he’s going to get hit. He’s going to throw this ball to a point in space. Can he trust that you’re going to go in front of that defender and not make him look like an idiot in front of 10 million people? To just put it as bluntly as possible, that’s kinda what it is a lot of the time." 

It's thought Patriots de facto general manager Eliot Wolf could look to acquire numerous assets by trading out of the third pick as late as during the first night of the draft on April 25. Depending on how far down in the first round New England moves in such a scenario, the club could still grab a big-name prospect such as Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy or Bo Nix of the Oregon Ducks. 

"A lot of the time there’s obviously going to be someone in the area, but they have to have that trust and understanding that you’re going to be able to be in that spot," Hooper added about a target being a quarterback's friend during games, "where only you can get it and not leave your boy out to dry."

Hooper clearly isn't losing sleep about not knowing the identity of that quarterback in the early days of spring.