FOXBOROUGH, Mass - All eyes are on Drake Maye as the rookie quarterback makes one final push to earn the New England Patriots starting role.
The team brought back veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett in the offseason to serve as a mentor for Maye, but also to be the starter if needed. And at the beginning of the Spring, head coach Jerod Mayo said that Brissett was QB1.
But Maye has truly impressed in the past week, and the competition is a lot closer than it was.
So on Wednesday, Mayo discussed whether he feels Maye is ready to take over that starting role. Specifically in terms of the pre-snap operation.
"100%. I think he's ready to run a huddle," Mayo said.
This is the news that Patriots fans have been hoping to hear, especially considering the poor performance the team had last season that started with the quarterbacks.
New England got a high draft pick because of it and used their No. 3 overall pick on Maye, so fans want to see him start immediately.
But that coaching staff is taking things slow, especially considering what happened with Mac Jones over his three years in New England.
However, the best quarterback will start according to Mayo, so let's see if that's Maye or Brissett when the regular season begins.
New England travels to take on the Washington Commanders on Sunday, with the Patriots head coach telling reporters on Wednesday that all four quarterbacks are expected to play.
So that means it will be the final opportunity for Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett to prove who the real starter is.
And after that game, Mayo is expected to make his decision. He provided a timeline of when he expects to have the final decision.
"I would say by Monday night, we should know who the quarterback is," he told reporters before practice. "A Sunday night game, it's always hard to really crank through the film. Especially on the road. But I think Monday, Tuesday, you probably need to know who it is."
But while the coaching staff might know, that doesn't mean they will be ready to make it public,
"Now, that doesn't mean I'll tell you on Monday or Tuesday," Mayo added.
Who will be the team's starting quarterback in Week 1?
At the beginning of the Spring, Mayo knew exactly who it was going to be . While he did say all four quarterbacks had the chance to earn the starting role, the front runner was clear even all the way through the beginning of the summer.
"I don't think there's any doubt - Jacoby (Brissett) is the starting quarterback at this point in time," Mayo said in July.
But while Brissett has shown promise during training camp, the preseason games have not been going well. He hasn't gotten a lot of time on the field, but in the second game, he got three drives. And the result was two three-and-outs and one interception in the end zone.
On the other hand, rookie quarterback Drake Maye has grown a lot since being drafted and is certainly in the running now.
This is very evident considering the shift in how Mayo has discussed the quarterback competition and the starting situation. On Monday, he was asked twice about it.
And instead of reiterating that it's Brissett, he kept things very open.
“100%… We don’t have a starting QB right now. When it’s time we’ll announce that," Mayo first said on WEEI's the Greg Hill Show on Monday morning. "He could absolutely be QB1, so could Jacoby.”
And he had a similar answer in his press conference prior to practice
"We still don't know right now. We have another preseason game, and then a week after that. When I know, I'll let you know," Mayo said.
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