New England Patriots Writer Says Rookie QB Should Play 'A Ton' on Thursday Night

On Thursday night, the New England Patriots get their preseason campaign underway with a matchup against the Carolina Panthers .

The story through much of training camp has been the distribution of reps and who is leading the quarterback competition. At this juncture, there seems to be a defined pecking order with Jacoby Brissett at the top, Drake Maye a ways behind him, and then Joe Milton and Bailey Zappe far behind them.

But only one quarterback in the room was drafted to be the future of the franchise, and that's Maye. Chris Mason of MassLive emptied the mailbag this week in his latest article , and when asked directly how much he thinks Maye should play on Thursday night, he said 'a ton.'

"These preseason reps are going to be incredibly valuable to Maye, especially if the Patriots opt to slow-play things and keep him sidelined as Jacoby Brissett’s backup for however long this season," Mason wrote . "There’s no substitute for NFL game experience, and even in exhibitions, Maye will do well to bank every snap he can get. The rookie needs to see a real pass rush. He needs to feel NFL speed. He needs to get hit, pop up, and dust himself off. This stuff doesn’t happen on the practice field, no matter how realistic coaches try to make 11-on-11 periods."

Mason went on to advocate for a system in which Brissett took the first couple drives before Maye takes over into the fourth quarter.

Regardless of what Jerod Mayo decides to do, it won't be long before we have an answer.