With the start of Patriots training camp just one sleep away, head coach Jerod Mayo, along with a contingent of players, including Ja'Whaun Bentley, Jonathan Jones, and Jacoby Brissett, took to the podium to catch up with the beat guys and gals before tomorrow's 10 a.m. practice behind Gillette Stadium. What shouldn't have come as a surprise to most was Mayo coming out and saying in no uncertain terms that Jacoby Brissett is QB1 as things stand in late July, specifically bringing up that he's the most "pro ready" option they have, which is an objective fact. 48 career starts, including 11 in 2022, with OC Alex Van Pelt out in Cleveland, and has notably more NFL experience than the three QB options behind him do combined.
While nothing Mayo said about Brissett was earth-shattering, what surprised me was what he said shortly after that about Maye, saying that he could earn the starting gig ahead of Week 1's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
A Fork in the Road
One other point Mayo opted to bring up on Tuesday was the contrast in how things could go with Maye. Specifically, he brought up the slow and steady process the Packers did with Jordan Love compared to an instance like C.J. Stroud last year in Houston, where he got the ball and caught fire nearly instantaneously. Even looking beyond that, look at what happened with Mac Jones in 2021 once Cam Newton got his case of COVID. The plan was that Newton would seemingly start the year as QB1, but Jones got that whole week of joint practices with the Eagles with starter reps, and the rest was history for better or worse.
Even with that said, I believe the Patriots will almost certainly play things slow with Maye (If he starts this year, my guess is it'll be after the Week 14 bye), but the sheer fact Mayo opened the door on the idea he could start as soon as Week 1 in a public setting feels notable. I have a tough time believing he'd do that all of one day before camp if he didn't think it was a real possibility. Granted, Brissett should be viewed as the favorite and the right choice for the short term, but this is now the storyline with this team in the late days of July and going through all of August.
Main Image via
Comments