By Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer Aug 28, 2024, 2:14pm ET
Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter covering the New England Patriots for ESPN. Rice has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Follow Rice on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots coach Jerrod Mayo said he will wait another day before telling his players who he has selected as the starting quarterback, providing an unexpected twist in the battle between veteran Jacoby Brissett and rookie Drake Maye.
Mayo said Wednesday that the decision had been made and that he wanted to speak with the quarterbacks in person before making the announcement, but a “busy” morning spent organizing the team's roster prevented him from doing so.
“I know everybody wants to know,” Mayo said. “I'll talk to each individual player (Thursday), we'll have a team meeting (Thursday) and then I'll let the media know.”
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The Patriots are scheduled to practice on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. ET and will hold their regularly scheduled meetings.
Mayo said the quarterback decision was made in consultation with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and that the two remain in lockstep.
“You just want to go back and forth and weigh things and make sure that at the end of the day you're doing what's best for the team,” Mayo said. “I think it's important to remember that what's good for the team today may not be good for the team in a few weeks.”
“I think the challenge now is we want to win every game but at the same time we're trying to create something special.”
Brissett had been at the top of the depth chart since the start of spring practice, but Maye has made moves over the past two weeks, and since Maye became disobedient, the gap between the two has narrowed, with Maye saying he's played better than Brissett in that time frame.
The coaching staff has noted Brissett's experience will be important: He has 48 career starts and played for the Cleveland Browns in 2022 in an offense similar to the one the Patriots ran under former Browns assistant coach Van Pelt.
Van Pelt suggested last week that Brissett would be the starter, noting that Maye has been “impressive” but that “it's still a process of how you develop a rookie quarterback.”
“There's a part of this offense where Jacoby, having played there, understands some tools he can use to get out of certain situations, pressure situations. Drake is still learning those things. He's working at it,” Van Pelt said of Meyer's development plan.
Brissett started all three of the Patriots' preseason games, playing 27 total snaps and completing 5 of 14 for 36 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.
Maye replaced Brissett in all three games, playing 66 total snaps and completing 21 of 34 passes for 192 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also rushed seven times for 32 yards and one touchdown.
