Patriots HC shares crucial update on starting QB job

Thursday night saw both Patriots quarterbacks struggle. Drake Maye finished the lopsided loss, but Jacoby Brissett was in place for much of the game. New England will stick with the veteran moving forward. 

“Jacoby is our quarterback until I say he’s not the quarterback,” head coach Jerod Mayo confirmed during a Friday press conference (video link). “I thought [Thursday] night, he showed a lot of toughness, a lot of grit. On protection breakdowns, tried to do what we asked him to do. But I would say, just as a team, as a coaching staff, we’ve just got to be better.”

The Patriots managed just 139 yards of offense, scoring three points. Brissett completed 12 of 18 pass attempts but totaled only 98 yards while taking five sacks. Maye logged 16 snaps in relief, but he took a pair of sacks and completed half of his eight passes. In the wake of a struggle along the offensive line, it is no surprise that Brissett will remain atop the depth chart for now.

However, Mayo added that the team’s practice rep allocation will remain the same moving forward. As a result, Maye will continue to take roughly 30% of the snaps with the first-team offense. As Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer noted before Thursday’s game, the first-round rookie has shared reps with the first-team unit and the scout team and side work with quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney (video link). Maye’s development is a priority for the 2024 season, and the No. 3 pick drew praise from Mayo for his training camp and preseason showings before a final decision on the team’s starting quarterback was made.

Brissett got the nod for the QB1 spot to start the year, but the expectation has remained that Maye will take over at some point during the campaign. Patience while the team’s offensive line and skill position corps develops is a sensible approach for the Patriots, though, and Brissett is a familiar passer to offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. Hired after a strong push was made to bring Nick Caley back into the organization under the OC title, Van Pelt will be counted on as a critical figure in Maye’s acclimation to the NFL. That process will continue to take place in a backup capacity for now.