FOXBOROUGH - Jacoby Brissett wants you to know he's not going down without a fight. Monday, Brissett capped a bounce-back performance by hitting a streaking Tyquan Thornton down the left sideline (past Christian Gonzalez) for a huge gain in a one-minute drill. It led to a Joey Slye field goal, something the people's choice, Drake Maye, could not replicate during his drive.
"Today was good," said Brissett when asked about the throw to Thornton. "(He) made a great catch, and that was a good way to end, quote, unquote, that part of training camp. And so, again, it's all about progression and finding ways to get better with these guys and get on the same page. And I think that we're doing that."
There has been some slight movement in the on-field battle for the top quarterbacking job, with Maye getting more run with some offensive linemen who might be considered starters (although that is hardly set in stone). Still, how the top two signal callers have been deployed remained the same since day one of camp: Brissett first, followed by Maye.
The greater movement has been caused by the public declarations of Jerod Mayo. Back on July 23rd, he said this:
"I don't think there's any doubt β Jacoby (Brissett) is the starting quarterback at this point in time."
But Monday morning, the head coach left the door open.
"We don't have a starting QB right now. When it's time, we'll announce that. (Maye) could absolutely be QB1, so could Jacoby."
I presented that change to Brissett post-practice, wondering how he felt about the words and if he viewed it as the door opening more for Maye. His response was exactly what you'd want.
"Nah, I still treat myself as if I'm the starter," he said, straight and to the point.
Brissett is entering his ninth year in the league. Only once in his career did he get handed the top job, and that was the bizarre scenario that played in Indianapolis with Andrew Luck abruptly retiring in August of 2019. Yet he has gone about his business in the right way, and it's allowed him to outlast players who possess more physical gifts than Brissett has but are far less equipped to handle the uncertainty of being a backup or bridge starter. He understands he could be sent to the bench before the Pats even get to week one, or the team could continue to take a longer view of Maye's development and let him marinate while Brissett takes the bulk of the snaps. All the while, knowing any decision to play him and not the kid will not go over well with most of the fan base and, I would argue, a good chunk of the media covering this team.
"Man, I can't worry about that," said Brissett, smiling. "I just go out there and do my job. I've been in this league long enough. A lot of crazy things have happened in my career so far. I wouldn't be shocked by anything, but at the same time, I'm enjoying this process and just putting my best foot forward...
"I mean, that's what's kept me in this league so far. It's not listening to the outside noise. If that was the case, I would have been done in this in this league a long time ago."
As I've written before, GM Eliot Wolf identified Brissett as the perfect player for this position, and the glowing way the Washington Commanders and their quarterback last year, Sam Howell, spoke of Brissett only cemented that decision. He's a system fit for what Alex Van Pelt wants to do, but he's also a pro's pro, and when the time does come to make that change, Brissett will become Maye's most prominent advocate/sounding board as he slides back into that mentor role.
"If 'mentor' means being a good teammate, yeah, I guess I'm the perfect person for that," Brissett said. "That's how I look at it. But every day, I'm learning. I'm growing in all the different roles. Trying to figure out how I can be a better teammate, better quarterback, better man. All of that stuff."
That's a hell of an example for the 21-year-old Maye to learn from and, as for the off-the-field stuff, aspire to be.But don't go writing the obituary on Brissett's second tenure with the Pats just yet. From where I sit, the veteran is still, objectively, the leader in the clubhouse.