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New England fans hoping to see Drake Maye in Week 1 might need to temper expectations
The New England Patriots opened training camp on Tuesday, as veterans reported ahead of the 2024 NFL season. New head coach Jerod Mayo addressed the media as well on Tuesday, and took head on the question on everyone’s mind:
When will Drake Maye be the team’s starting quarterback?
While the Patriots selected the UNC passer third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, the new head coach is certainly taking it slow with the rookie quarterback.
“Yeah, coming out of the spring, I don’t think there’s any doubt Jacoby [Brissett] is the starting quarterback at this point in time,” said Mayo on Tuesday. “We can look at these other quarterbacks on the roster, at the same time, it’s about competition. When we get out on the field this summer, with the pads on, we’ll see how it all plays out. Coming out of the spring, I think it’s clear that Jacoby is the most pro-ready guy we have. He’s played a lot of football.”
Maye is not the only rookie quarterback on New England’s roster, as the team also selected Tennessee QB Joe Milton in the sixth round. Along with Brissett and Bailey Zappe, that gives the team four quarterbacks on their current roster.
Could four quarterbacks somehow find a way onto the final roster?
“It’s always a conversation about, do we move this person here? Do we move that person there? We’re always going to take the mindset of we’re going to do what’s best for the organization and we’re going to try to get those guys reps so they can compete,” said Mayo. “I don’t know if that means four or three, honestly, right now we have four quarterbacks and those guys will go out there and practice today.”
While there has been speculation that the crowded QB room — along with Milton’s athleticism — could lead to a position switch the Tennessee product shut that idea down in the spring, noting that a move like that would “never” happen.
While Mayo indicated that Brissett enters camp as the starter, the new head coach also made it clear that competition is open at QB, as it is at every position.
“Look, if [Maye] — and this goes to any position — if he comes out here and he lights it up, once again, it goes back to the quality of reps. It could absolutely happen [where Maye is the Week 1 starter]. Look, I’ll sit here and tell you, coming out of the spring, Jacoby looks like the starting quarterback,” described Mayo. “Now with that being said, he’ll have competition. Let’s not forget about even Joe Milton; let’s not forget about Zappe. All those guys will have opportunities to go out there and be the starting quarterback in Week 1.”
Following the end of the Mac Jones experiment in New England, Patriots fans are eager to see if Maye can be the team’s next franchise passer.
They might need to be a bit patient.
