Head coach Jerod Mayo was still not ready to name a starting quarterback on Sunday night after the Patriots’ final preseason game against the Commanders.
But after calling rookie Drake Maye the “second-best quarterback” on the roster behind veteran Jacoby Brissett, we seem to know which way Mayo is leaning in his decision.
However, Maye still said he feels ready to face the Bengals in Week 1 if called upon.
“Yeah, I think I would feel ready,” Maye said. “I think I’m ready for whatever this football team asks of me and ready to go out there and help us beat the Bengals in Week 1.”
Brissett left Sunday’s game after just one series. After Maye replaced him, the Patriots announced that Brissett’s return was questionable due to an injury to his right shoulder sustained during a sack.
Mayo said after the game that the plan from the beginning was to have Brissett play for just one series and that the quarterback could have continued playing despite the shoulder injury. He also declined to say whether he would let Maye start if Brissett wasn’t ready for Week 1.
Competition for the quarterback position has been fierce in the second half of the summer, but the Patriots have not yet given Maye a first-team appearance in practice. That hasn’t affected his preseason performance, though, and in the last two practice games he’s looked like one of the Patriots’ best players.
Maye completed 13 of 20 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown pass in Sunday’s loss to the Commanders. He also threw a 48-yard touchdown pass on the run game, but it was negated by a penalty against his offensive line.
Even if Maye is the better quarterback and ready to start in Week 1, it might still make sense for the Patriots to hold him back, as their offensive line is clearly still struggling to protect the quarterbacks and even line up properly after Sunday’s game.
