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The New England Patriots may have taken a few detours along the way, but ultimately arrived at the destination they plugged into the GPS when they began the offseason program. On Thursday, first-year head coach Jerod Mayo officially announced that veteran Jacoby Brissett will be the team’s Week 1 starter when they travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals and begin the 2024 campaign.
That decision leaves No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye serving as the QB2. It also is the conclusion to what was a late summer surge by the rookie. Over the last three-ish weeks there appeared to be real momentum building for him to possibly unseat Brissett for the Week 1 job. While Brissett has taken the lion’s share of the first-team reps dating back to the spring, Maye’s strong end to the summer applied pressure on the team to take a hard look at their situation under center. Mayo himself even told WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday that “Drake has outplayed Jacoby.” And he’s not wrong.
Here’s how the quarterbacks stacked up against one another this preseason.
Jacoby Brissett
5/14
35.7%
36
0-1
14.6
Drake Maye
21/34
61.8%
192
1-0
86.9
Of course, there are the natural caveats that need to be thrown into those preseason numbers, and there’s more context than the actual numbers. That said, just from the eye test, Maye’s clearly the most talented quarterback on New England’s roster, which is to be expected given his draft status.
So, why hold him out? It’s simple: Drake Maye is ready for the Patriots, but the Patriots are not ready for Drake Maye.
If the situation around the quarterback was different, there’s the possibility that Mayo’s press conference on Thursday was a more monumental occasion.
Specifically, the offensive line for New England is a major question mark coming into the season and was likely a factor in the decision-making process. This summer, the line has been a key storyline due to a wide array…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/patriots-name-jacoby-brissett-week-1-starter-why-keeping-qb-drake-maye-on-bench-is-right-move-for-new-england/
Author : Tyler Sullivan
Publish date : 2024-08-29 15:48:15
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