A new era of Patriots football is underway.
The 2024 NFL season will mark New England’s first without Bill Belichick calling the shots since 2000. Former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo is taking over as head coach, and the 38-year-old already faces a tough decision at the team’s most important position.
Along with a new head coach, New England will also have a new starting quarterback.
The Mac Jones experience did not go as planned after the Patriots selected the Alabama product with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. The franchise traded Jones to the Jaguars this offseason, paving the way for a new signal caller to step under center.
New England gave itself two viable options with its offseason moves.
First, the team signed veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who served as the Patriots’ backup to Tom Brady (and interim starter) in 2016. Then, it drafted North Carolina star quarterback Drake Maye with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft — New England’s highest draft pick since it selected Drew Bledsoe with the No. 1 overall pick in 1993.
Which player will be the Patriots’ QB1 in Week 1? The Sporting News takes a closer look at what head coach Mayo has said about the position battle below.
Will Drake Maye start for Patriots right away?
It appears that head coach Mayo and the Patriots will take a patient approach with rookie quarterback Maye.
Mayo has been adamant that Brissett will be New England’s Week 1 starter and has not wavered.
“Coming out of the spring, I don’t think there’s any doubt. Jacoby is the starting quarterback at this point in time,” Mayo told the media plainly at the end of July.
“… I think it’s clear that Jacoby’s the most pro-ready guy we have. He’s played a lot of football.”
Brissett has taken all the snaps with the starters in practice and served as QB1 in the Patriots’ first preseason game.
Neither quarterback battling for the starting job played much in that exhibition — Brissett played one series while Maye played six total snaps.
Maye is expected to play more in New England’s second preseason game against the Eagles, according to Mayo, but it doesn’t seem as though his performance will have much impact on Brissett’s role as the starter.
The Patriots want to make sure their future franchise quarterback is as prepared as possible before he takes over the starting role. That is probably a wise decision with the expected direction of this season.
New England’s 4.5-win total over/under is the lowest projected in the NFL this season by BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Patriots’ defense was rock solid last season but they finished dead last in total points and third-to-last in total yards. It didn’t have many major upgrades on the offensive end, leaving the starting quarterback with limited weapons to work with.
Instead of rushing Maye into a losing situation, head coach Mayo will lean on a steadying hand like Brissett to usher in the new era. The 31-year-old has eight seasons of NFL experience and 48 starts under his belt. He has been a great backup and decent starter for as long as he has been in the league.
This isn’t to say that Maye won’t start at any point in the season, but Brissett seems to be the guy going into Week 1 no matter what happens in training camp.
New England will hope that patience affords Maye the same level of success as other star quarterbacks around the league like Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Jordan Love, all of who spent at least one season on the sidelines before taking over the starting job.
