Alex Van Pelt announces Patriots starting quarterback for season finale
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt shared on Thursday that Drake Maye will start at quarterback in the team’s season finale against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was included on the team’s first injury report of the week on Wednesday, as limited with a finger injury. Despite that, it sounds like he’s in the clear to start the team’s season finale against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
“Drake looked good yesterday. He’s ready to go. So he’ll be starting the game for sure,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt shared on Thursday.
This comes as there’s been speculation about the Patriots resting starters for this game, with a loss guaranteeing the franchise the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Buffalo is expected to rest if not outright sit most of its starters, with head coach Sean McDermott saying earlier this week quarterback Josh Allen will start to continue his consecutive starts streak but not play much beyond that.
Maye’s day could look different than his Buffalo counterpart, based on what Van Pelt said on Thursday. “We’re playing the game to win the game for sure,” Van Pelt said when asked if the plan is for Maye to play the whole game. “We’ll see how it goes from that point. But yes, that’s the intent.”
At the same time the Patriots may be preparing a different backup quarterback for Maye. Van Pelt shared on Thursday that rookie sixth-round pick Joe Milton took non-scout team reps at practice to start the week, which has not been the case for most of the year. Milton has been inactive but dressing as the team’s emergency third quarterback all season.
How much of Maye and/or Milton will we see? Tune into 98.5 The Sports Hub for coverage of the game on Sunday, starting with Patriots Preview at 10:00 a.m. ET.
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