When you’re an NFL head coach, there are certain things you can’t say in front of the media.
New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo is in a tough spot. While everyone understands that the Patriots aren’t going to start Drake Maye, the third overall pick, because New England’s offensive line and receivers aren’t good enough to support him, that’s not something that’s being said out loud. Maye’s development is the key factor. The franchise doesn’t want to ruin its talented rookie quarterback.
But Mayo made a small mistake by trying to avoid that issue. After all, he is a rookie too. He said that Maye had outperformed Jacoby Brissett, but a couple of days later Brissett was given the starting job. It’s not often you see a coach say his starter was outperformed by his backup.
Mayo attempted to reverse that mistake during a Tuesday morning appearance on WEEI.
Jerod Mayo explains his decision
Mayo said he did not fully explain why Maye outperformed Brissett in the preseason.
“I should have given more context to the comment at the time,” Mayo said. By Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald“Drake got more playing time in the preseason than Jacoby, and that was intentional.”
That doesn’t make much sense either. Maye had an 86.9 passer rating. Brissett was at a horrendous 14.6. A disparity in playing time doesn’t explain all that. More reps might have helped Brissett dig himself out of that hole, but anyone who watched the games understands that Maye played better than Brissett. There were other factors involved in choosing Brissett to start Week 1.
It’s hard to explain those reasons without disrespecting the locker room.
“There are many factors that led to this election,” Mayo said last week, via MassLive“I think the hard part is thinking about the short term and the long term at the same time. But as an organization, we feel like Jacoby gives us the best chance to win right now.”
Will Drake Maye play?
One of the questions that will have to be resolved is whether or not Maye will play this season. If the Patriots are losing games, there will be a lot of pressure to change quarterbacks.
Mayo didn’t directly answer that, but he did say this won’t be a redshirt season for Maye. He was asked if Maye would play if Brissett were to get hurt, and the answer was a very clear yes.
“When we talk about developing a guy like Drake Maye, that’s an ongoing process,” Mayo said. via the Boston Herald“If Jacoby were to get hurt in Week 1, Drake (Maye) would be the next guy up for the No. 2 quarterback spot on our roster, with a 1,000 percent probability.”
That’s a big answer. It means New England isn’t committed to benching Maye all season. Brissett could keep Maye on the bench all season if he plays well, but if he falters, then the Patriots apparently aren’t against benching Maye instead of replacing him with someone like fellow rookie Joe Milton III.
This is a story that won’t go away once the games start. In fact, if Brissett struggles and the Patriots lose games, it will be the only story worth following during New England’s season. In that case, Mayo’s explanation for why Maye is taking the starting job would be a lot easier.