Jerod Mayo officially reveals the most important decision he’s made so far as Patriots’ head coach

FOXBOROUGH, Mass - A decision has officially been made.

New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has officially named Jacoby Brissett the starting quarterback for the 2024 season, multiple sources report .

He will lead the team in the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Sept. 8.

Mayo told reporters on Wednesday that he had made the official decision. However, he wasn't ready to make it public.

He wanted to speak with the two quarterbacks first and then reveal it to the entire team on Thursday. He originally wasn't scheduled to speak with the local media that day, but set up a press conference to reveal the final decision.

The quarterback competition has been one of the hottest topics in New England this season. At the beginning of the summer, Mayo made it clear that Jacoby Brissett was No. 1. But over the summer, Drake Maye had a very impressive camp. And that lead to a very telling comment in the past week.

"What I will say this is a true competition and I would say at this current point, Drake has outplayed Jacoby," Mayo said on Monday.

However, there are a lot of factors that the New England Patriots head coach took into account.

"Now in saying that, we have to take in the full body of work, going all the way back to the spring and beginning of training camp. And we'll see where we end up" Mayo added. "But those are the conversations that will happen here over the next couple of days."

This is the biggest decision Mayo has made since being named head coach of the Patriots. Yes, he had to go through roster cuts and get it from 90 to 53 players. But this is something that is expected to define his first season.

He brought in offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to help develop the quarterbacks, so naturally he will be a part of that decision. But Mayo cleared up who will have the final say.

"If you want to talk about the process, Alex [Van Pelt], myself, we just have those conversations, but he gets input from his coaches as well," Mayo explained on Wednesday. "Ultimately, it's my decision to make."

There are pros and cons for both quarterbacks to start, so it's a tough one for Mayo and the coaching staff.

"When it's all said and done, you just want to make sure you're doing what's best for the team and what's best for this organization," he explained.

"Look, if it doesn't work, blame me, blame me. I would say one thing, I think it's important to remember what's good for the team today may not be good for the team weeks down the line."

So basically, while Brissett was named the starter, anything is possible and Maye could come in at any moment.