Drake Maye will open his rookie season in the NFL on the sideline.
Jerod Mayo announced last week that the Patriots will roll with veteran Jacoby Brissett as the team’s starting QB in Week 1 against the Bengals, with Maye getting extra time to marinate as the team’s primary backup.
While Maye narrowed the gap between him and Brissett this preseason with a pair of encouraging performances against the Eagles and Commanders, Mayo’s decision to start Brissett over Maye didn’t come as a surprise.
Be it New England’s woeful offensive line, the reality that the Patriots are staring at a multi-year rebuild, or the track record of star QBs like Patrick Mahomes and Jordan Love thriving after “redshirt” rookie years, putting Maye in bubble wrap this fall might be prudent.