Former Cowboys quarterback lands in New England

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Garrett Gilbert has signed with the New England Patriots, per ESPN’s Field Yates. Gilbert has been assigned to the Patriots’ practice squad, specifically.

The news of Gilbert’s signing comes just days after the Patriots parted ways with former quarterback Cam Newton on Tuesday. Newton saw limited preseason action compared to rookie quarterback Mac Jones; Newton only dropped back to pass 21 times compared to 65 attempts by Jones.

Jones, the Patriots’ 15th-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, had an excellent preseason. The former starter at Alabama held a completion percentage of 69 and threw for 389 yards and a touchdown. He was named the New England Patriots’ starting quarterback on Tuesday after Newton was released.

Jones will be backed up by veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer, and Gilbert figures to be in the mix if either Jones or Hoyer is injured.

Gilbert is no stranger to New England. The 30-year-old backup quarterback, who played for three seasons at the University of Texas, suffered a shoulder injury then transferred to SMU for his final season, was selected in the sixth round — 214th overall — by the then-St. Louis Rams, spending one season on the practice squad. However, later in 2014, Gilbert moved over to the Patriots’ practice squad. He spent two years on their practice squad, and Gilbert was a part of the Patriots team that won Super Bowl XLIX in 2014.

Gilbert has spent the majority of his career on NFL practice squads, with stints in St. Louis (2014) and New England (2014-2015) before joining the then-Oakland Raiders (2015-2016), Carolina Panthers (2017-2018), Cleveland Browns (2019-2020) and Dallas Cowboys (2020). Gilbert has appeared in seven NFL games, completing 21 of 38 passing attempts and holding a 52.2 completion percentage. He has thrown for 283 yards and a touchdown, along with one interception.

Most of Gilbert’s NFL stats came in his first-career start, which was rather recent: in 2020, after Cowboys’ starting quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury, backup Andy Dalton was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Behind Dalton was Ben DiNucci, who struggled in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles. As a result of DiNucci’s subpar play, the Cowboys opted to start Gilbert, who logged 234 passing yards, one touchdown and one upset. Gilbert and the Cowboys nearly pulled off an upset of the Eagles, but fell just short 24-19. He later returned to a backup role on the active roster behind Dalton.

Gilbert, 30, is the son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert. Although his father was a backup or third-string quarterback, he remains in NFL record books for one distinction: he is the only player in NFL history to appear in five-straight Super Bowls without winning one, after appearing in Super Bowl XXIX for the Chargers, then four-straight as a third-string quarterback for the Bills.