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Mike Reiss, ESPN editor-in-chief
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo selected Jacoby Brissett as the team’s starting quarterback after the veteran held off a late surge from rookie Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft.
“I’ve decided that Jacoby Brissett will be our starting quarterback this season,” Mayo said Thursday. “As an organization, we support Jacoby 100 percent.”
Brissett spent the entire spring and training camp as the starter, but the dynamics of the competition have changed over the past two weeks. Mayo previously said that once Maye became less deferential, the gap between the two quarterbacks narrowed to the point where Maye was playing better than Brissett during that stretch.
At the same time, Brissett’s experience within the team’s system, as well as his body of work dating back to the spring, factored into the decision-making process.
Mayo said Wednesday he lost sleep over the call.
“I think it’s important to remember that what’s good for the team today may not be good for the team in the weeks to come,” Mayo said. “I think the challenge is to want to win every game now, but also to try to build something special. So for me, it was a challenge.”
Mayo noted the final decision was his, but it came after standard conversations with new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
Brissett’s experience has been cited by coaches as key. He has 48 career starts and in 2022, with the Cleveland Browns, he played in an offense similar to the one the Patriots have put together under Van Pelt, a former Browns coordinator.
Van Pelt hinted that Brissett would be the starter late last week, noting that Maye had been “impressive” but “there’s still a process to bring in a starting quarterback.” Van Pelt also discussed the team’s development plan for Maye.
“There’s certain things in this offense that Jacoby, having played on this team, understands some of the tools you can use to get out of certain situations, pressure situations,” Van Pelt said. “Things like that Drake is still learning. He’s pushing.”
Brissett started all three of the Patriots’ preseason games, playing 27 total snaps and finishing 5 of 14 for 36 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception.
Maye followed Brissett in all three games, playing 66 snaps and completing 21 of 34 passes for 192 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He added seven carries for 32 yards and a touchdown.
