FOXBORO — Last week in separate press conferences, Jerod Mayo named Jacoby Brissett the Patriots’ starting quarterback for Week 1 and noted the best starter for the team’s short-term future may not be the same starter for their long-term goals; an obvious nod to the development of first-round rookie Drake Maye.
But if Brissett gets injured in the next few weeks, as he did in the Pats’ preseason finale at Washington, would the coaching staff play Maye behind that same offensive line?
Mayo gave a definitive yes to that answer Monday.
“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, 1,000% Drake (Maye) would be the next guy in as the No. 2 quarterback on our roster.”
Mayo reiterated the Patriots are completely behind Brissett as the team’s starter, and don’t want the nine-year veteran to feel Maye nipping at his heels. Each week in practice, Brissett will take the majority of starting snaps, leaving just a few for Maye, who will also occasionally serve as the Patriots’ scout-team quarterback to simulate the opposing passer they’ll face in their next game. This week, that means simulating Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow.
Mayo also described the competition as ongoing, meaning Brissett will have to keep playing well week to week to keep the job. He said their training camp position battle came down to “a few days.” Brissett took more than 98% of the first-team reps in training camp and started all three preseason games, but lost ground over the last two weeks of the summer, at the end of which Mayo said Maye had “out-played” him.
Maye has since said he’s ready to support Brissett however he can, and feels the two competed well in training camp.