The Patriots’ quarterback competition may have taken an unexpected turn Sunday night after the team’s rookie signal-caller impressed again while its veteran suffered an injury.
As he did in the second preseason game, Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick in the draft, seemed to outplay Jacoby Brissett in the team’s third and final exhibition Sunday night in Washington, though Brissett sustained an injury to his throwing shoulder in the contest. The Patriots only planned for Brissett to play a series or two, Mayo said before the game, and he didn’t miss any plays so it’s unclear how serious the injury is.
Brissett was deemed “questionable” in the team’s official designation, but that largely didn’t matter considering he was only going to play a drive or two anyway.
Patriots injury update: QB Jacoby Brissett (right shoulder) is questionable to return. pic.twitter.com/L8c0HcStc9
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 26, 2024
Maye led the only touchdown drive of the first half and finished his five possessions 13-of-20 passing for 125 yards a touchdown. (He also had a 48-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn thrown on the run negated due to an offensive line penalty.) Meanwhile, Brissett only played one drive and completed 2 of 4 passes for 19 yards.
But even if Maye had the better plays and showed more upside, there are two reasons why Brissett may still be the starter if he’s healthy when the Patriots open the season in Cincinnati in two weeks.
The first is simple: Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt made it pretty clear on Friday he viewed Brissett as the starter and the quarterback with a better command of the offense. When asked what was keeping Maye from getting more reps with the starting offense at practice, Van Pelt responded, “Jacoby.” Van Pelt said the Patriots have had a plan to slowly bring along Maye and indicated that he doesn’t want to deviate from that.
The other reason Maye might start on the bench is no fault of his own. On Sunday, the weak performance of the offensive line offered a reminder of how difficult the task is going to be for whoever is the Patriots quarterback. On Maye’s first 13 plays, he dealt with two bad snaps, a false start from a lineman and a guard getting pushed back so quickly he stepped on Maye so hard that the quarterback’s shoe fell off.
On Brissett’s drive, a lapse from the offensive line meant the veteran quarterback took a massive hit. He didn’t leave the game immediately after the hit, playing two more snaps on the drive, one of which included a great throw from him down the sideline. NBC’s broadcast said Brissett didn’t receive a medical examination, but the hit clearly stung and served as a brutal reminder for what could await the Pats’ quarterback this season.
Last week, Mayo said that the Patriots will likely decide on who their starting quarterback is Monday night or Tuesday morning. So it’s possible he’ll reveal that decision at his Wednesday afternoon news conference.
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(Photo: John Tlumacki / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
