What Devin McCourty said about Drake Mayes’ representative for the Patriots in 2024

Patriots

“I think they’re still trying to figure things out.”

The Patriots’ 2024 season could be a tough one for fans.

While the signing of Drake Maye generated a lot of excitement this spring, New England’s underdeveloped roster is still hampered by vacancies across the roster, particularly on the offensive line.

Given the lack of a proven No. 1 receiver, the potential loss of Christian Barmore for the season due to blood clots, and the initial pain awaiting both Maye and first-time head coach Jerod Mayo, the Patriots likely face a multi-year rebuild.

It didn’t take long for the mood toward the current team to sour, especially after New England’s offensive line was regularly torn apart during Tuesday’s joint practice against the Eagles, leaving Maye, Jacoby Brissett and the rest of the Patriots’ quarterbacks little time for offensive action.

While New England’s ongoing offensive struggles may be discouraging to some fans, former Patriots safety Devin McCourty stressed that New England’s current rebuilding efforts will always require some patience.

“(Jerod Mayo) coaches in the New England area, so everyone will definitely have an opinion, but I think it will take some time to really judge it,” McCourty said during an appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” Wednesday morning. “I think they’re still trying to figure things out.”

New England’s inability to protect its quarterback led to disaster in 2023, with both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe slumping during several critical periods of a 4-13 season.

In terms of pass protection, the early results so far this preseason have been even more discouraging – raising concerns about the punishment that could await Brissett, Maye and New England’s other quarterbacks this fall.

“I think they’re still trying to work through certain things. (Mayo) is making decisions, he’s finding his own way,” McCourty said. “But I said this when he took over, this team is going to need time. This team has struggled the last few years, and last year was obviously the worst year of all. But I would say the last few years have not been the prototypical New England Patriots teams that you’ve seen in years past.”

As for Mayes’ limited appearance in New England’s season opener against the Panthers last week, McCourty stressed that Mayes’ current spot on the roster shouldn’t come as a huge surprise either.

“I think Mayo said it, right now they don’t see Drake Maye as a starter. So they’re trying to build a team that has Jacoby at the top, but also trying to develop the No. 1 pick,” McCourty said, adding, “I think we’ve seen throughout the NFL that if you put the young quarterbacks right there, it doesn’t work out well and then it gets worse and worse as the season goes on.”

“Sometimes these guys never recover. You look at Sam Darnold, who’s getting a second chance now, but he got on the field early with the Jets, the team wasn’t good around him, the offensive line, the weapons, and then it didn’t work out and he was seen as a failure.”