FOXBOROUGH - Drake Maye got reps from first-team center David Andrews for the first time in practice. They were all handoffs and done in a session that wasn't all that competitive, but it happened.
"It's still a competition, and Jacoby (Brissett) is still QB1," said Jerod Mayo before the workout. "It's a competition amongst all the guys on the field, including the quarterback spot. Hopefully that makes sense to you guys, but he's still QB1.
"I would say by Monday night, we should know who the quarterback is. Sunday night game - it's always hard to crank through the film - especially on the road, but I think we probably need to know who it is Monday, Monday-Tuesday."
With only one more full-padded practice before the preseason finale, Mayo's still pushing the idea of this being a competition when, in fact, it would take giving his rookie quarterback a real opportunity, which just hasn't happened yet. Could it be Sunday night in Washington for the preseason finale? There's a good chance Maye gets more reps, but how many, and is it enough to overtake Brissett this late into the summer? Internally, some still believe Maye can be the guy in week one, but I remain skeptical based on usage so far.
"I think anyone can see the confidence growing in Drake, and anyone can see Jacoby go out here and, as a total body of work, do a good job," Mayo said, which did nothing to dissuade me from where I'm at currently.
As for Maye, he seemed uncertain how to answer a direct question about who the starter is, saying. "I'm not 100% sure."
But later, the 21-year-old said what we've all been seeing during camp.
"He's (Brissett) been repping with the ones the whole time, so excited for him, and just trying to take every advantage, you know, take advantage of the reps I do get. And when I'm there, try to have some fun."
You can feel Maye choosing his words carefully when discussing Brissett - "He's a great player, great teammate." The respect is evident, as it should be. By all accounts - from Maye, coaches, and players on the offense - the veteran has done everything he can to aid Maye while, first and foremost, trying to be the number one in the short term (at the very least). But the former North Carolina star didn't come here to sit. He's a gamer, and no matter what the scouting report on him was coming in or how it's looked at various points, Maye believes in his abilities. So, he had to ponder a bit after being asked whether or not he'd be disappointed if he didn't get the nod in a week.
"Um, yeah, that's a good question," said Maye, buying time to think of the right answer. "I think the biggest thing with me, I think personal goals, come with winning. My personal goal is to help this football team win in whichever way I can. Whether that's starting or that's helping Jacoby - anyway, just helping this team win, that's the main focus."
This 'competition' has Maye in an interesting place. He's aiming to win the gig and is playing significantly better than before the preseason game with the Eagles. But there remains a lot he doesn't know - he's been here for less than four months - so Maye's trying to figure out his place in the locker room and on the field.
"I think just balancing being there with vets that know what they're doing, are kinda helping me and balancing, you know, me kind of being the young guy in the rookie class of kind of knowing the most, and trying to teach those young guys," he explained. "There are guys like David (Andrews) and Chuks (Okorafor) and KJ (Osborn), who have played in games and played playoff games and that know all these things I'm trying to learn from them.
"And for me, there's, you know, young guys here with me. JP (Polk), and Javon (Baker) and Layden (Robinson) and Caedan (Wallace), young guys that - we're trying to come up together. And I feel like it's a quarterback's ... it's my job to kind of bring them along."
He's done that after practice since the spring, especially with Polk and Baker. That has continued here throughout camp, on good days or bad, for him or for them. That leadership is a piece of his equation that the folks at North Carolina raved about, but he was the chosen one there.
Here, he's the third overall pick, but there are a bunch of veterans who are only concerned with the now, and Maye will have to prove to them that whenever the time comes, he'll put them in a better position to win than the guy he replaces. And we won't know if he's capable of that until Mayo and the offensive brain trust give him the opportunity, which they haven't...yet.