Jerod Mayo gives critical update on Patriots quarterback competition
The New England Patriots’ quarterback competition could be ramping up in the coming days.
Head coach Jerod Mayo confirmed to reporters during a Friday video conference that he plans to meet with Patriots assistants to discuss their plans for quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye for the rest of the preseason. This comes after Maye clearly out-performed Brissett on an individual basis in the Patriots’ preseason loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium.
“We’ll see. We’ll have a staff meeting later on today, and that decision will be made,” Mayo said. “I do think [Maye] definitely showed improvement yesterday as a whole, and we’ll see what happens going forward.”
Up to this point in training camp, Maye had been repping exclusively with the backup offensive line and mostly backup receivers, tight ends, and running backs. Mayo also confirmed that it was the Patriots’ “development plan” to keep Maye as the No. 2 quarterback during the summer, but also acknowledged that “you have to adjust those plans based on the competition.”
Maye has made incremental improvements and corrected various mistakes over the past 2-3 weeks in camp, while Brissett has backslid in his performance. Maye has had chances to play with the starting offensive line in preseason action, including most of that group on Thursday night against the Eagles. The rookie completed 6-of-11 passes for 47 yards, and also rushed four times for 15 yards and a touchdown run.
MORE: Is Jerod Mayo ready to make his quarterback ‘competition’ a reality?
Brissett, meanwhile, was just 3-of-7 for 17 yards and threw an interception in the end zone after starting Thursday’s game. The veteran’s accuracy and decision-making has not been strong enough to keep Maye at bay from at least a tighter competition at quarterback.
Mayo said after Thursday’s game that the offensive line is not a consideration in whether to play Maye, amid blocking concerns, especially for left tackle Vederian Lowe. But what may be more of a consideration is the competition Maye faced. The rookie struggled more in Tuesday’s joint practice with the Eagles, looking sped up against their formidable starting pass-rushers.
However, Brissett didn’t look much better against the same competition in the same practice. The gap has narrowed in recent weeks, by virtue of both Maye’s steady improvement and Brissett’s regression.
That’s not to say that Maye could win the starting job as soon as Week 1. Too much time has gone by over the summer, as the plan appears to have been to start Brissett all along. Add in that the Patriots’ early schedule is unfavorable to making a change, from a short week on the road against the New York Jets in Week 3 to a major challenge in Week 4 at the San Francisco 49ers.
But if Maye starts to get practice reps with the projected starters over the final two weeks of the preseason, could October be in play? If the recent performance of both Maye and Brissett is any indication, then the Patriots should at least be set to make the quarterback competition more serious.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
