Jerod Mayo unofficially names Jacoby Brissett New England Patriots’ starter for Week 1
The New England Patriots have a new coach on the sidelines for the first time in 23 years, and Jerod Mayo seems like he’ made a decision about his QB1.
First year head coach Jerod Mayo has his hands full in Foxborugh trying to fill the shoes of the winningest coach in the history of the game. There is no Bill Belichick or Tom Brady at Gillette Stadium anymore, so Mayo will have to be the new Belichick and he is going to have to find the “new” Tom Brady.
Brissett started all three preseason games
After a disappointing season that saw New England part ways with Bill Belichick after nearly two and a half decades, the Pats landed the third overall pick in the NFL Draft. They took Drake Maye out of the University of North Carolina after a failed experiment with Mac Jones over the last few years.
There was a QB competition in Foxborough even before training camp started. Maye would be one of two or three quarterbacks fighting for the QB1 job, with Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe. Brissett is the veteran and was brought in after playing the last few games of the season in Washington.
Brissett started each of the three preseasons games, although he only played one or two series in each of those games. Despite his mediocre numbers in the preseason, it seems like Mayo has made up his mind. After the Pats’ third preseason game against Commanders, the new head coach said, “100 percent he’s our second-best quarterback on the roster right now” when asked if Maye would start if Brissett can’t play Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pats to protect their future QB
Brissett was shaken up after taking a sack on his first and only possessions against Washington. He was holding his shoulder and didn’t play another series, although the original plan was to play him for a series or two.
Drake Maye came on and impressed yet again, going 13/20 for 126 yards and a TD in the final preseason tune up. If you look at the stats, he has done better than Brissett, and also played more snaps than the supposed QB1. Maye seems to be the favorite in New England but there may be some hesitancy to start the rookie.
The fact of the matter is, this is still not a very good football team. They won four games last year, with a lot of the same guys so this team has a long way to go. The offensive line is inconsistent at best, and to put a rookie QB out there and ask him to make the team better is a lot to ask. They did that with Mac Jones a few years ago, and look how that ended. The Patriots are going to show caution with their potential face of the future, and that’s why he’s not starting in Week 1.