New England Patriots make change that will define their 2024 season

The future is now.

The New England Patriots will start rookie quarterback Drake Maye against the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon, multiple sources report. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport had it first.

The team has decided to officially to bench Jacoby Brissett, who started the first five games.

Maye was drafted by the Patriots in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft with the No. 3 overall pick.

After the first four games, Jerod Mayo has been clear about who is the starter.

"Jacoby is our starting quarterback," the head coach said over and over again.

However, after the loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, there was a very noticeable change in the head coach's answer regarding the quarterback situation.

He started by saying that the veteran quarterback's performance just "wasn't good enough."

“I thought we played well enough defensively and on special teams to win the football game," Mayo explained. "Look, as the quarterback — and he understands this — he touches the ball on every single play and we didn’t win the game or score enough points to win the game. I think he would echo that same sentiment that it wasn’t good enough.”

The Patriots are on a four game losing streak, and after each loss, Mayo has had to face questions about whether it is time to turn to the No. 3 overall pick.

Based on how much the offense struggled in Week 5, he's not ruling anything out at this point.

“That’s a conversation, not only at that spot but all the spots, of how do we get better as a football team,” Mayo said on WEEI. “We’re not playing well. It’s not a secret. Being the head coach of this team, I have to accept all of the responsibility for that.”

And it seems like the time has come for a change.