Weeks after the New England Patriots invested serious resources into an athletic developmental quarterback, a new NFL byline could incentivize NFL teams to carry a third QB on their 53-man roster.

NFL teams can now declare an inactive player as their “emergency quarterback” as long as he’s on the 53-man roster. NFL teams can have 48 players on their game-day roster as long as eight of them are offensive linemen. If a team dresses seven or fewer offensive linemen, the game-day roster can only include 47 players. The emergency QB would be inactive but mean a team can dress up to 49 players.

The Patriots signed Louisville QB Malik Cunningham to a three-year contract with $200,000 in total guarantees including a $30,000 signing bonus. They also have QB Trace McSorely on their current 90-man roster.

Keeping Cunningham or McSorely wouldn’t mean the Patriots could carry an extra player on their roster, but it would add an extra layer of insurance in case Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe got injured during a game.

Here’s the full bylaw that owners approved today. Notably, it limits the third QB exemption to players on the inactive list — not practice squad players who weren’t elevated for the game. Could impact 53-man roster construction for some teams. pic.twitter.com/ka0TpgibHk

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 22, 2023

The emergency quarterback could only enter the game if the other two quarterbacks are injured or ejected. The emergency QB would be forced to leave the game if either of the active quarterbacks were cleared to play.

So, that means if Cunningham was declared as the emergency QB, he would not be allowed to enter the game in any other capacity near the goal line or in read-option looks. New England could elect to activate three QBs or make Zappe their emergency QB if they did want to use Cunningham in other roles.

NFL teams can still elevate two players from their practice squad each week. Perhaps this new rule will influence to keep Cunningham or McSorely on their 53-man roster and risk losing a player at a different position on their practice squad.