The Patriots’ competition for the quarterback position may have taken an unexpected turn Sunday night after the team’s rookie impressed again while the veteran suffered an injury.
As he did in the second preseason game, Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, appeared to outpitch Jacoby Brissett in the team’s third and final preseason game Sunday night in Washington, despite Brissett suffering a throwing shoulder injury on the play. The Patriots had only planned for Brissett to play one or two series, Mayo said before the game, and he didn’t miss any plays, so it’s unclear how serious the injury is.
“He said he was fine,” Mayo said of Brissett. “We’ll find out tomorrow.”
Brissett was listed as questionable in the official team evaluation, but that didn’t really matter considering he was only going to play one or two drives anyway.
Patriots injury update: QB Jacoby Brissett (right shoulder) is questionable for his return. pic.twitter.com/L8c0HcStc9
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) 26 August 2024
Maye led the only touchdown drive of the first half, finishing his five possessions completing 13 of 20 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. (He also had a 48-yard touchdown pass to KJ Osborn that was thrown on the run but was nullified because of an offensive line penalty.) Meanwhile, Brissett played just one drive, completing 2 of 4 passes for 19 yards.
But even if Maye has had the better plays and shown more potential, there are two reasons why Brissett could still be the starter, provided he’s healthy, when the Patriots open the season in Cincinnati in two weeks.
The first is simple: Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt made it pretty clear Friday that he views Brissett as a starter and quarterback with better offensive control. When asked what would keep Maye from spending more time with the starting offensive line at practice, Van Pelt replied, “Jacoby.” Van Pelt said the Patriots have a plan to slowly introduce Maye and indicated he doesn’t want to deviate from that.
The other reason Maye might be on the bench isn’t his fault. On Sunday, the offensive line’s poor performance was a reminder of how difficult the Patriots’ quarterback job will be, no matter who it is. In Maye’s first 13 games, he’s had to contend with two bad snaps, a false start by a lineman and a guard who was rushed back so quickly that he stepped on Maye so hard that the quarterback’s shoe fell off.
On Brissett’s drive, a mistake by the offensive line meant the veteran quarterback took a major hit. He didn’t leave the game immediately after the hit, but played two more snaps during the drive, one of which included a great throw from him down the sideline. According to NBC’s broadcast, Brissett was not medically evaluated, but the hit obviously hurt and was a brutal reminder of what could await the Pats quarterback this season.
Last week, Mayo said the Patriots will likely decide who their starting quarterback will be Monday night or Tuesday morning, so it’s possible he’ll announce that decision at his Wednesday afternoon press conference.
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(Photo: John Tlumacki / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
