FOXBOROUGH - Despite doing everything he could to create a quarterback competition late in training camp, Jerod Mayo did the sensible thing Thursday morning, naming Jacoby Brissett the starter.
"We have decided - or I have decided - that Jacoby Brissett will be our starting quarterback this season," he said. "Now, in saying that, as an organization, we're 100% behind Jacoby. There is no 'you've got a guy right here; you've got a guy right there.' We're 100% behind Jacoby."
The decision should have been no surprise. However, Mayo raised eyebrows during an appearance on 'The Greg Hill Show' on WEEI Monday morning, saying first-round pick Drake Maye had out-played Brissett the last two weeks. Of course, he never changed the quarterback rotation in training camp nor gave the rookie much time with the starters. In fact, there were precious few reps for Maye with the 1s, only adding to some external confusion about the situation.
But in Wednesday's press conference, Mayo hinted to the 'play the kid' crowd that it wouldn't happen, at least not immediately.
"I think it's important to remember what's good for the team today may not be good for the team weeks down the line. So, I think the challenge is you want to win every single game now, but also we're trying to build something special here in New England. So that to me, that was a challenge."
Over the last 24 hours, Mayo has insisted that the choice was ultimately his but that conversations with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and even GM Eliot Wolf took place as this organization continues to preach collaboration. Van Pelt had seemingly made his feelings clear when we spoke to him a week ago, almost as if he was pumping the brakes on the Maye bandwagon.
"That's the hardest position in sports is a quarterback," Van Pelt said. "Especially for a rookie guy coming in and not seeing all the defense that they're going to see in the NFL. It's tough. It's hard to transition in and it takes a little bit of time. So I think we're going to be as patient as we can with that process."
While Maye's preseason numbers looked good (21-of-34, 192 yards, TD pass, TD run), these games are very basic, from coverages, pressures, and simulated pressures and zero game planning. That will change two Sundays from now in Cincinnati, and taking the long view should only benefit Maye in his development.
"I had an opportunity to talk to Drake," said Mayo. "I had an opportunity to talk to Jacoby separately and also together. I feel like we're all on the same page from an organizational perspective."
Mayo casually slipped into conversation that Brissett was the starter "this season." That naturally spawned the question: does that mean Maye won't play at all this year?
"I don't want to get into hypotheticals," said Mayo. "We can't go into the season saying, 'he's going to go X amount of weeks.' Look, as long as Jacoby is going out there performing the way that we all have confidence in him doing, he'll be our quarterback this season."
Brissett has a history with Van Pelt, having his best season as a professional in 2022 under AVP and Kevin Stefanski. He got off to a terrific start this summer but has plateaued and even backslid since the joint practice with the Eagles. That experience should give the Pats some answers in the short term while Maye continues to gain valuable experience both in practice and in the meeting rooms.