Drew Bledsoe

Drew McQueen Bledsoe (born February 14, 1972) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the Washington State Cougars, receiving second-team All-American honors and winning Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year in 1992. Bledsoe was selected first overall in the 1993 NFL draft by the Patriots, where he spent his first nine seasons. As the Patriots' starting quarterback, Bledsoe ended a seven-year postseason drought and led them to four playoff appearances, two division titles, and one Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXXI. He was also named to three Pro Bowls and became the youngest quarterback to receive the honor in 1995.

Following a period of declining success and two consecutive seasons in which the Patriots missed the playoffs, Bledsoe suffered a near-fatal injury early in the 2001 season that led to backup Tom Brady becoming the team's starter. He was unable to regain his starting position for the remainder of the season due to Brady's success, which led to the Patriots winning their first championship in Super Bowl XXXVI, and it began a dynasty for the franchise. Bledsoe spent his next three seasons with the Buffalo Bills, where he received a fourth Pro Bowl selection, and his final two with the Dallas Cowboys.

While his tenure with the Patriots would be eclipsed by Brady, Bledsoe is recognized for helping rebuild the franchise and his role during their first Super Bowl-winning season when he relieved an injured Brady to help win the 2001 AFC Championship. For his accomplishments in New England, he was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2011.

Early life

Bledsoe attended Walla Walla High School and was a letterman in football, basketball, and track. In football, he was named a first-team All-State selection by the Tacoma News Tribune. In track, he competed in the throwing events, recording top-throws of 45.34 meters (148.8 ft) in the discus throw and 54.70 m (179.5 ft) in the javelin throw.

He was later inducted into the WIAA Hall of Fame in 2020.

College career

Bledsoe spent his college career at Washington State University playing for the Cougars. After gaining the starting job at the end of the 1990 season as a true freshman (joined later by Jeff Tuel and Jayden de Laura as the only three in school history), he quickly became the face of the Cougars' offense. In 1992, Bledsoe led WSU to a 9–3 record (ranking #17 in the coaches poll and #15 in the AP) and a 31–28 win over Utah in the Copper Bowl in which Bledsoe completed 30 of 46 passes for 476 yards and two touchdowns, being named the Copper Bowl MVP. He also established WSU records in single-game passing yards (476), single-season pass completions (241), and single-season passing yards (3,246). He was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year.

Following an impressive junior year in 1992, Bledsoe decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 1993 NFL draft. In the 34 starts of his collegiate career he amassed 6897 yards, 502 completions, and 44 touchdowns.

Bledsoe was later inducted into the Washington State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.

Statistics

Professional career

New England Patriots: 1993–2001

Bledsoe was the first overall selection in the 1993 NFL draft, taken by the New England Patriots. He started right away for the Patriots in 1993, as they improved from two to five wins. As a rookie, he passed for 2,494 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions in 13 games. Bledsoe would also make history during the season as in week 17 in a game vs the Indianapolis Colts he would become the first rookie in NFL history to finish a game with a perfect passer rating in a 38–0 victory.

On November 13, 1994, the Patriots had won just three of their first nine games and were losing, 20–3, to the Minnesota Vikings at halftime. Bledsoe led a comeback victory in which the Patriots won, 26–20, in overtime, as he set single-game records in pass completions (45) and attempts (70). (The completion record was broken in November 2025 by another quarterback drafted by New England, Jacoby Brissett.) The win sparked the beginning of a new age for the Patriots, as they rallied behind Bledsoe and won their final six games to finish with a 10–6 record and capture the wild card spot. Bledsoe passed for 4,555 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 27 interceptions. The Patriots lost to the Cleveland Browns (led by future Patriots head coach Bill Belichick) in the wild-card round 20–13. Due to his performance, Bledsoe was selected to his first Pro Bowl as an alternate.

In the 1995 season, Bledsoe passed for 3,507 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions as the Patriots went 6–10. Following the difficult 1995 season, Bledsoe turned it around in 1996, ranking among the top passers in the league with the help of wide receiver Terry Glenn, pushing the Patriots to reach the playoffs again and winning the AFC championship over the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20–6. This led to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI, where they lost to the Green Bay Packers, 35–21. Bledsoe completed 25 of 48 passes for 253 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions in the loss. He was also named a starter for the Pro Bowl that season, the second of his career.

During the 1997 season, Bledsoe helped the Patriots win five of their final seven games to once again qualify for the playoffs, the fourth time in eight years as a Patriots starter he would lead the team to a postseason appearance. The Patriots lost in the Divisional Round to the Pittsburgh Steelers; however, Bledsoe built a career-high 87.7 passer rating, passed for 3,706 yards, tossed 28 touchdowns, and earned his third Pro Bowl invitation.

In 1998, he became the first NFL quarterback to complete game-winning touchdown passes in the final 30 seconds of two consecutive games. In doing so, he propelled New England into the postseason for the third straight year. He completed these come-from-behind efforts while playing with a broken index finger on his throwing hand, an injury that would later sideline him for the postseason.

Bledsoe started the 1999 season very strong, with 13 touchdowns and only four interceptions as the Patriots held a 6–2 midseason record. However, Bledsoe subsequently threw only six touchdowns and 17 interceptions, and the team finished with an 8–8 record, while Bledsoe was sacked a career-high 55 times. The team's slide continued into the 2000 season as the Patriots ended with a 5–11 record. Bledsoe threw a then-career low thirteen interceptions that year but was sacked 45 times.

In March 2001, Bledsoe signed a then-record 10-year, $103 million contract. During the second game of the 2001 season on September 23, Bledsoe was racing toward the sideline on third-and-10 when New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis leveled him with a hard, but clean hit. Bledsoe was about to dive for the first down marker, but defensive end Shaun Ellis clipped Bledsoe's ankles as he was about to dive, resulting in Lewis hitting Bledsoe while he was standing straight up. With Bledsoe appearing to have suffered a concussion, backup Tom Brady came in to finish the game. After the game, team trainer Ron O'Neill suspected Bledsoe did not look right and asked him to come to the medical room for evaluation. Team doctor Bert Zarins ran some tests and discovered Bledsoe's heart was racing. Zarins realized that this was something much more serious than a concussion; normally, concussed people have their heart rates tail off dramatically. Bledsoe was rushed to the hospital, where it was discovered that Lewis' hit sheared a blood vessel in his chest, causing a hemothorax that had him bleeding a pint of blood an hour. Doctors inserted a chest tube to alleviate bleeding, and Bledsoe was in the hospital for a few days.

Brady took the starting job and led New England to the playoffs. Bledsoe would never regain his starting role, although he proved integral to his team's playoff run when he replaced an injury-hobbled Brady in the AFC Championship Game against Pittsburgh. Bledsoe, starting from the Steelers' 40-yard line, capped a scoring drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to David Patten to give the Patriots a 14–3 lead, as well as all of the momentum going into halftime. With the Steelers trailing by four points in the fourth quarter, Bledsoe put together a 45-yard drive to put the Patriots in field goal range where Adam Vinatieri converted to make the score 24–17. Bledsoe later drove New England into Steelers territory to set up a 50-yard kick to seal the game; however, Vinatieri missed and the ball went back to Pittsburgh. The Patriots defense held, and with a final score of 24–17 the upset was complete and the Patriots moved on to Super Bowl XXXVI. In winning the conference championship game, Bledsoe completed 10 of 21 passes for 102 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. It was the second time in six years (1996 and 2001) that Bledsoe was an integral part in leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance, and during the on-field trophy presentation Bledsoe tossed his father a game ball. Brady started as quarterback as the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVI, with kicker Adam Vinatieri hitting a game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired.