Paul Perillo: Comparing Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels’ situations

On Friday's edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Paul Perillo made an interesting point and comparing the situations Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are both in.

Paul Perillo: 

I don't necessarily have a huge problem with starting Jacoby Brissett, I think there are a lot of reasons why people felt that was the right way. What I don't really love is I feel like the decision was made in March and nothing that was going to happen was going to change that and I and I kind of feel like things did happen that, you know, should have at least changed that. Most specifically, I think Drake Maye, unlike what a lot of the prognosticators told us, is not two years away from being able to play in the NFL. Now I'm not telling you that a rookie quarterback, any rookie quarterback, steps onto the field for the first time and is ready, quote unquote, just ready to go. This guy is not a project. This guy needs to learn, develop and get experience like every other rookie. He's not a project, so I would have given him some serious consideration to starting him right out of the shoot. I understand what they did, and I understand why they did it. I would say the last 8 or 10 days of training camp and the last two preseason games, I think warranted serious consideration... the only reason that I can accept for not playing Maye at any point is if you don't feel like he's ready to go out and perform. He doesn't know the offense. He doesn't know what he's doing. He's not going to be able to make checks. He's not going get them in and out of the huddle. He's not ready. To me, the rest of it is all irrelevant. Like, do you think Washington is making a grievous mistake starting Jayden Daniels? It's just as bad a situation. It's a terrible offensive line. I don't love the rankings, but we'll use the rankings that everybody under 40 loves to use now. I believe PFF ranks the Washington offensive line 28^th, so a rookie quarterback behind a pathetically bad offensive line is fine in Washington, with one player with him in Terry Mclaurin and everything is ok. 

With their initial roster set on Tuesday and the first waiver cycle completed on Wednesday, it's now time for Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo to put together the Patriots practice squad. That started on Thursday, with the team announcing the first seven signings of the season.

All seven players were with the team in training camp this summer. The group is made up of running backs Kevin Harris and Terrell Jennings, wide receiver Matt Landers, tight end Mitchell Wilcox, offensive lineman Liam Fornadel, defensive end Jotham Russell and safety A.J. Thomas.

Those signings leave the Patriots practice squad with 10 open spots remaining, four of which can be filled by veterans (the others have to go to rookie or second-year players). Russell doesn't count against the 16-man practice squad limit as an International Pathway Player, but that also means he can't be added to the active roster this season (although he can be a practice squad gameday elevation up to three times).

Some of those remaining spots could go to other players recently cut by the Patriots, including the four released on Wednesday (Jalen Reagor, Michael Jordan, Trysten Hill, and Isaiah Bolden) after the team's waiver claims. However there are some players who reportedly won't be returning, including safety Joshuah Bledsoe and wide receiver David Wallis (both reported by Mark Daniels of MassLive).

There are still a few positions where the Patriots are thin on their active roster that aren't yet supplemented by the practice squad. Quarterback, offensive tackle, tight end, defensive tackle, edge rusher, and kicker would all be spots where it would make sense for the Patriots to add.