Patriots HC clarifies recent Drake Maye, Jacoby Brissett comment

Maye ended the preseason 21-of-34 for 192 passing yards with one score and no picks, while Brissett finished 5-of-14 with 36 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

Depending on how New England plays in the first few months of the season, the third overall pick could replace Brissett under center at some point in the campaign.

The rest of the AFC East enters the fall with expectations of at least contending for a playoff spot, so most Patriots fans and media members understand that a return to the postseason will likely have to wait at least one more year. In that case, Brissett makes sense as a temporary starter to open the year in his second go-around with the franchise. The 31-year-old re-joined New England on a one-year deal in March.

Barring injury or shoddy play from Brissett, and if the Patriots are out of the playoff picture by December, they could opt to install Maye as the starter coming out of their Week 14 bye.

The UNC product has loads of potential, having won both the 2022 ACC Player of the Year award and the conference's Offensive Player of the Year honor as well.

Maye finished his three-year college career with a 64.9 completion percentage for 8,018 passing yards and 63 touchdowns against just 16 interceptions. He could add a rushing element New England's offense that the group hasn't had for years, as he racked up 1,209 yards and 16 scores on the ground across his 30 games.