Now, like the other candidates, Maye has one more audition to prove his chances as a Week 1 starter. Maye could “show off” against the Commanders on Sunday night, and that could cause Mayo, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and personnel director Eliot Wolf to reconsider their decision.
However, in my time as a pro football reporter, I have never seen a true quarterback competition with such a heel turn this late in the summer. In 2021, Mac Jones emerged when he successfully led the first-team offense against the Giants in a joint practice. Incumbent starter Cam Newton was absent due to a COVID rule violation, which opened the door for Jones, and the former Patriots QB seized the opportunity.
Likewise, the Panthers came to Foxborough for joint practices in the summer of 2022 when Belichick’s friend Matt Rhule was head coach in Carolina. The Panthers had an open competition between Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, with the two quarterbacks sharing first-team reps so coaches could compare the offense with each quarterback under center.
For this to follow a similar timeline, Maye would have had to make that jump up the rankings last week when the Patriots hosted the Eagles for a joint practice, and that didn’t happen. The door never opened like it did with Mac, nor did Maye ever get the same opportunities as Mayfield and Darnold. Is it fair to question that the Patriots didn’t give Maye an opportunity to really compete for the starting job? Yes. However, if we trust what they do, not what they say, Brissett will play quarterback for the Patriots against the Bengals on Sept. 8.
It’s not all bad news for the future QB1. From that perspective, the Patriots were gauging at the start of training camp whether Maye would be ready to play this year, let alone Week 1. The plan always seemed to be for Maye to sit behind Brissett, and they’re likely sticking with that plan. The good news is that Maye has proven he should play his rookie season sooner rather than later.
The Maye era is upon us. He could take over as a starter as early as October. On Thursday, Van Pelt, who is the main voice in Maye’s development, spoke about the progress the rookie has made in training camp:
Offensive coaches provide insight into the development of QB Drake Maye
After reading that Brissett is the expected Week 1 starter from this perspective, the million dollar question is: What’s stopping the coaching staff from giving Maye the job?
Before practice on Thursday, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt spoke to reporters about his perspective on Maye’s progress. The veteran OC was asked what is holding Maye back from earning a starting position, and he said, “Jacoby.”
“(Brissett) is our starting quarterback. The good news is we get to play everybody this week. We’re still in the evaluation process. We have one more preseason game and our guys are going to play, so we have another chance to evaluate.”
