Drake Maye will begin his rookie season with the New England Patriots on the bench, but head coach Jerod Mayo has cleared up one bit of confusion about the quarterback’s role.
Jacoby Brissett, who was named New England’s starting quarterback this week, suffered a shoulder injury during the team’s preseason finale. After that game, Mayo was asked if Maye would be the Patriots’ Week 1 starting quarterback if Brissett were unavailable. At that point, Mayo was not even ready to commit to Maye as the No. 2 quarterback.
“I would like to sit here and say 100% he’s our second-best quarterback on our roster right now. … I’m not sure until I watch the film,” Mayo said at the time.
That, of course, was surprising given that Brissett and Maye were supposedly in competition for the starting job all offseason. But on Monday, Mayo made it clear that Maye is the next man up.
“When we talk about developing a guy like Drake Maye, that is a continuous process,” Mayo said. “If Jacoby was to get injured in the first week, 1000% Drake would be the next guy in as the No. 2 quarterback on our roster.”
Jerod Mayo: "If Jacoby was to get injured in the first week, 1000% Drake Maye would be the next guy in" pic.twitter.com/5T89OjqMFY
— Patriots Coverage on NBCS Boston (@NBCSPatriots) September 2, 2024
Mayo essentially confirmed the obvious, as the Patriots recently moved on from another veteran quarterback who had been on their roster. They now have Brissett, Maye and sixth-round rookie Joe Milton III, who is a distant third string behind Maye.
Maye outplayed Brissett for much of the preseason, and many felt he should have been named the starter. The No. 3 overall pick seems to have the right mindset about the situation heading into the season.
