At this point, it appears to be a matter of not “if” but “when” the New England Patriots will make the move from Jacoby Brissett to Drake Maye this season.
But the Patriots’ quarterback controversy now has a new wrinkle thanks to a comment made on one of the team’s official podcasts.
Following New England’s 30-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, host Evan Lazar discussed the Patriots’ quarterback situation on an episode of the team’s Catch-22 podcast. And in doing so, Lazar made a curious comment regarding Brissett’s play and how it has affected New England’s locker room.
“Right now, they’re teetering on a mutiny in that locker room,” said Lazar, per ProFootballTalk.com . “And I don’t want to be alarmist or like . . . hyperbolic . . . I don’t. But I was in that locker room after the game on Sunday. The defense was mad at the defense. The offense was mad at the offense. You’ve got young receivers who are literally throwing tantrums on film…
“I said this before and I’ll say it again. You’re at the point now with 52 other guys in that locker room that all watch these two quarterbacks practice every single day, that all know that they drafted Drake Maye third overall. And at what point in time do some of these guys say to themselves, ‘Why am I going out there and getting my butt kicked every single Sunday and Drake can’t?… Why am I going out there with a quarterback who can’t get me the football when we have the Ferrari back in the garage that can get me the football?”
While Lazar’s analysis certainly seemed to mix reporting with opinion, it’s not the type of comment you’d expect to hear on a team-branded podcast. And apparently the Patriots agreed, with team superfan BabzOnTheMic noting that the replay of the episode had been deleted from X and YouTube, while the audio of the podcast episode was edited to remove the comment regarding a potential mutiny.
PFT’s Mike Florio also pointed out that Lazar appeared on the team’s flagship station, 98.5 The Sports Hub, where the show’s host gave him the opportunity to “rephrase” his comments.
“I’ll fully admit I got a little carried away today on the podcast,” Lazar answered. “The word I used, ‘mutiny,’ like, there’s no ‘mutiny’ in the Patriots’ locker room. And, like I said, I got carried away, and that was my bad. You know, that’s not what was going on.”
“I just think the biggest thing that I worry about — and this is just me personally, my opinion — is how long the rest of the players in the locker room are gonna sit there and take their lumps while Drake Maye waits in the wings and waits for his turn. So that was just my opinion, and it came out a little stronger than I intended it to.”
Ultimately, this is the rub when it comes to team-run media — especially for a losing team. While such podcasts are produced under the guise of objectivity, the reality is that there is only so much negativity teams are willing to stomach when it comes to what is effectively thinly veiled P.R.
But although one could argue whether such analysis — and in this instance, reporting — belongs in a piece of content produced by the Patriots, perhaps the more interesting aspect of this entire ordeal is the team’s response to it.
Had the team let the podcast remain as is, it might have been a big deal in New England for a couple of days that would have quickly evaporated following the team’s next game. But by scrubbing the show, it’s now become a national story that raises questions about the role of team-run media and — more importantly for the Patriots — the team’s quarterback situation.
Ultimately, this is the Patriots’ content and they have the right to handle it however they see fit. But by going out of their way to scrub such comments from their own show, they’re effectively signaling that you can only expect to hear what they want you to hear in future episodes.
[ ProFootballTalk.com ]
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