According to head coach Jerod Mayo, the New England Patriots’ quarterback competition will continue until Sunday’s final preseason game against the Washington Commanders. The team expects to announce its Week 1 starter on Monday or Tuesday.
Mayo said all four of the Patriots’ quarterbacks will play Sunday, but all eyes will be on Jacoby Brissett and rookie Drake Maye battling for the top spot. Although offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt seems to prefer playing with Brissett early in the season, Maye will have another opportunity to show he’s ready to start in the NFL after outperforming the veteran in last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
So which Pats QB has the most to prove in the preseason finale? Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated was at Early edition and discussed the topic with our Patriots insider Phil Perry.
“Brissett, I would say,” Breer said. “I think the way Brissett played and the way Brissett looked is why they talk the way they talk down there. Because look, every new coach has to deal with this. This is nothing new. A theme in every training camp with every first-year coach is competition, and most first-year coaches are going to open up competition at as many positions as possible. And it’s really tough on a coach when he establishes a starter and that starter isn’t performing.
“So, being able to sell Jacoby Brissett to the locker room — and remember, the locker room doesn’t care about your three-year plan. The locker room doesn’t care about what’s best for Drake Maye in 2028. They care about now. Most of these guys don’t know if they’re still going to be here in 2025. They have their own careers to worry about. And so part of that is selling a quarterback to the locker room. And if Drake Maye looks better, if you’re a receiver or a lineman or a tight end and you’re worried about what your career is going to look like after this year, and you think the more capable guy is on the bench, that’s a problem and that’s something that Jerod Mayo has to deal with as a first-year coach.”
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Perry took the opposite side of the debate. He believes the season finale is more important for Maye because even if Brissett is already the clear starter in Week 1, another solid performance from the rookie would accelerate his path to the QB1 job.
“That’s why I would argue it’s actually more important for Drake Maye because he’s someone who can move around,” Perry said. “He may have some mobility in the order, and with Jacoby Brissett, we know roughly what that is. We’re assuming that in all likelihood, unless something extreme happens, he’ll be the starter in Week 1. But if Drake Maye plays well, especially some of the little things at the position — that is, can he recognize the blitz and get the team out of a bad game and into a good one? Is his foot game as clean as they’d like it to be when they decide he’s ready to play?
“If he performs well, that could speed up his process to becoming the number one pick. We know that’s inevitable. It’s just a matter of when. So if he goes up against the Commanders in the preseason, everything he sees will be relatively boring. But if everything is borderline flawless, then I think that speeds up the timeline for the rookie.”
Brissett is expected to start at quarterback in Sunday’s game, while Maye will be the Patriots’ second quarterback. Fellow rookie Joe Milton and third-year signal-caller Bailey Zappe are likely to play in the second half.
Kickoff for Patriots-Commanders is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.
