Jerod Mayo made it obvious on the opening day of the Patriots training camp that Jacoby Brissett is the team’s starting quarterback and that he would be the team’s top signal caller.
The Patriots were obviously impressed enough with Brissett during OTAs and minicamp to anoint him the starter heading into training camp, even though Mayo left the door open for No. 3 pick Drake Maye to earn the position “if he goes out there and lights it up.”
“I don’t think there’s any doubt — Jacoby (Brissett) is the starting quarterback at this point in time,” Mayo said. “…It’s clear Jacoby is the most pro ready guy we have.”
The Patriots have consistently expressed their satisfaction with Brissett as quarterback, even after selecting Maye in the first round. This offseason, they gave him a one-year contract worth $8 million, believing that he can help develop a young quarterback in addition to his abilities on the field. It is hardly shocking, then, that they still have faith in him.
Even while Mayo did leave the door open for Maye to win the position in the upcoming six weeks, it is still notable how much of a ringing endorsement they have given Brissett and how obvious they have made it that he is the starting quarterback.
“It could absolutely happen,” Mayo said.
It is also interesting that Eliot Wolf, whose Hall of Fame father Ron controlled the Green Bay Packers for two decades, is leading the new Patriots front office in the post-Bill Belichick era. Early in his career, Wolf was a member of the Packers, when he watched the organization bench high-profile rookie Aaron Rodgers. Therefore, it would not be astonishing if a team run by Wolf was happy to allow Maye, the second-youngest quarterback selected in the draft at age 21, begin his NFL career as Brissett’s backup.
But the team as a whole was only supposed to report for camp on Tuesday. Even while the Patriots are still adamant that Brissett is their starting quarterback, Maye has a chance to take the position on Wednesday when practices get underway.
“Obviously that’s the ultimate goal and I don’t take that lightly,” Brissett said. “… Looking forward to going out there and proving it every day.”
(Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
