Jacoby Brissett might win the New England Patriots‘ quarterback competition. But if Brissett is named the Week 1 starter, will he have earned the job?
Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean it will be a slam-dunk decision. In fact, during a Monday morning radio appearance, New England head coach Jerod Mayo admitted that Drake Maye was the better quarterback during the preseason.
Jerod Mayo Praises Drake Maye as Patriots QB Decision Nears
The Patriots’ QB battle took another interesting turn Sunday night when Brissett suffered a shoulder injury and Maye shined against the Washington Commanders. After the 20-10 loss, Mayo downplayed Brissett’s injury while reiterating he hadn’t decided which quarterback would start Week 1.
Mayo was asked for another QB update during his Monday morning appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” The first-year head coach didn’t tip his hand but offered a surprisingly honest take on Maye’s recent performances.
“We got in at 4 o’clock in the morning; Jacoby may come in here today and say his shoulder is no good,” Mayo said. “So, I’m not going to get too far down the road on if Jacoby could play or couldn’t play.
“What I will say: This is a true competition, and I would say at this point, Drake has outplayed Jacoby. Now, in saying that, we have to take in the full body of work, going all the way back to the spring and beginning of training camp. And we’ll see where we end up. But those are the conversations that will happen here over the next couple days.”
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Mayo was asked to explain the comment while video conferencing with Patriots reporters.
“It starts in practice,” Mayo said. “And also in the game where Drake has played better. Now, in saying that, everyone wants to know who the starter’s gonna be; I think there are multiple factors that have to go into this decision.
“One is the total body of work, whether we’re talking about the spring or the entirety of training camp. And then I would also say, oftentimes, we forget about just the overall experience that a guy like Jacoby has, which will also be weighted in the decision that we have to make here in the near future.”
Speaking of “the decision,” Mayo also provided an updated timeline for when he’ll announce a starting quarterback.
When Will Mayo Announce Starting QB?
Last week, Mayo said he hoped to announce a starter by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. But during his radio appearance, Mayo said he wanted to wait until after the roster cutdown deadline, which is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
“After much thought, after the cuts, I would rather, personally, announce who the starting quarterback is to the team before I announce it to everyone else,” Mayo said.
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Mayo also said that Maye has made the decision more difficult with his improvements late in training camp.
“We’ve maintained our stance that Jacoby was QB1,” Mayo said. “And, early on, you could see that there was a huge gap between (Brissett and Maye). But now that gap has definitely shrunk here over the last few weeks.”
Although Mayo has insisted Maye could win the Patriots’ quarterback competition, all signs continue pointing toward Brissett starting against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 8.
