FOXBORO — The Patriots are not making a trade to rookie Drake Maye at quarterback. Jacoby Brissett will remain New England’s starter until Jerod Mayo says otherwise.
“Jacoby is our quarterback until I say he’s not the quarterback anymore,” Mayo said during his video conference with reporters Friday morning. “Last night he showed a lot of toughness and grit on defensive breakdowns. As a team, as a coaching staff, we just have to get better.”
Brissett suffered another defeat New England’s 24-3 loss to the Jets on Thursday nightas he was sacked five times by the New York defense. He was under pressure on more than half of his dropbacks and threw for only 98 yards.
This was a recurring theme for the Patriots over the first three weeks of the season, as the offensive line failed to protect their quarterback. With the score locked in late in the fourth quarter, Mayo decided to send Maye onto the field to end the game.
The rookie led the Patriots into the red zone, but the drive and the game ended when he was sacked on his final snap. Maye was sacked twice and hit three times in his 16 snaps.
After Mayo and the Patriots reviewed game film and met with his coaching staff, they are sticking with Brissett at quarterback. Mayo admitted last week that Maye is getting about 30 percent of the snaps in practices with New England’s starters, an unusually high percentage for a team’s backup.
Mayo said Maye’s practice snaps will not increase as the Patriots prepare for their Week 4 game against the San Francisco 49ers.
“Right now, it’s still status quo,” Mayo said of the QB representatives. “Jacoby is still our starting quarterback and we have to be ready to support him. There are 11 guys out there on offense, so everyone’s needed. That’s really not up for debate this time.”
“Our whole focus right now is to get to 2-2,” Mayo added. “Everything is always being re-evaluated, but to be clear, Jacoby is still our starting quarterback until I say he’s not.”
Jerod Mayo reviews Drake Maye’s debut
Maye had a mixed debutcompleted four of his eight passes for 22 yards and ran for 12 yards on two carries. His first pass was nearly intercepted, but he threw a nice 15-yard pass to DeMario Douglas that brought the Patriots to the New York 7-yard line. A few plays earlier, Maye had picked up a first down with an 11-yard run on a fourth-and-8.
Mayo was impressed by what he saw from the 22-year-old.
“Another guy that’s athletic and can make all the throws. Coming off the bench at this point is always tough, no matter what position, but especially at quarterback. He did well trying to put a drive together,” Mayo said. “That’s something to build on. I thought it would be a good opportunity for him to go out there and do some live drills.”
Although Maye gained some valuable experience Thursday night, New England offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt believes the best development plan is to keep the rookie on the bench.
“I still believe that you learn by watching. I think there is still a lot to learn and that is my opinion,” Van Pelt said on Friday.
