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Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — First-year New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said veteran Jacoby Brissett is the team’s starting quarterback entering training camp because he’s the most “pro ready,” but Mayo left the door open that rookie Drake Maye could overtake him.
“If he comes out here and lights it up, it absolutely could happen,” Mayo said in reference to Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL draft. “But coming out of the spring, I don’t think there is any doubt — Jacoby is the starting quarterback at this point in time.”
Mayo repeated multiple times that he is preaching competition to his players at all positions, including quarterback, where the team has Brissett, Maye, third-year player Bailey Zappe and 2024 sixth-round pick Joe Milton III.
The Patriots signed Brissett, entering his ninth NFL season, to a one-year, $8 million deal in the offseason while knowing they would likely select a quarterback in the draft. The strategy, in part, was to have an experienced signal-caller who could keep the team competitive while not rushing a rookie’s development.
Brissett has started 48 career NFL games and also played in the offensive system being implemented by first-year offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt during the 2022 season with the Cleveland Browns.
“I think it’s clear that Jacoby is the most pro-ready guy we have,” Mayo said in advance of the team’s first official practice of training camp Wednesday.
Brissett, who was the first player to answer questions from reporters on the day players reported for training camp, plans to do everything he can to hold on to the job.
“Obviously that’s the ultimately goal and I don’t take things like that lightly. But I understand this league and I understand how every day is a challenge. It takes competition and I look forward to that and feed off that. I’m looking to go out there and prove it every day,” he said.
Brissett and Maye have quickly developed a rapport — they had previously met through Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell, a mutual friend — and Brissett was asked what advice he might give Maye entering his first training camp.
“There’s no scholarships anymore. It’s your job and that’s what makes it so fun — you get to go out there and compete every day and you understand that somebody else is trying to take your job,” he said.
Mayo added that every situation with a rookie quarterback has unique dynamics. He pointed out how Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, a 2020 first-round pick, sat behind Aaron Rodgers for three seasons before emerging as one of the NFL’s up-and-coming stars.
“There have also been situations where a guy comes in right now and he balls out,” Mayo said, perhaps referencing the Houston Texans‘ C.J. Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 draft who was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. “We’ll see what happens when we get out on the field.”
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Maye has already seemed to be making steady strides. He opened spring camps taking repetitions behind Brissett and Zappe, but ultimately elevated to No. 2 and capped off mandatory minicamp with a touchdown pass to rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk on a 5-yard fade.
Mayo said other considerations on the roster — such as the offensive line and skill position players — wouldn’t be the primary consideration in Maye eventually becoming No. 1.
“It’s not about everyone else. It’s ‘Does this guy go out there and perform better than Jacoby?’ No matter who we’re talking about,” he remarked.
Specific to Maye, he said: “The goal for Drake is just to get better each and every day. It’s not a straight line up to the top. There will be ups and downs. If he comes out here and takes full advantage, and lights it up, he could be the Day 1 quarterback.”
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