Jerod Mayo offers conflicting rationale for why Patriots waited to start Drake Maye

"It was more based on seeing what we had up front with the offensive line."

After rolling with Jacoby Brissett as New England’s starting QB for the first five weeks of the 2024 NFL season, Jerod Mayo and the Patriots opted to finally switch things up last week.

Even though New England fell to the Texans, 41-21, on Sunday afternoon, Drake Maye gave the Patriots’ offense a much-needed spark.

After Brissett tossed just two touchdowns in his five starts, Maye found the end zone three times against Houston — including a pair of scores to Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas that went for 35 or more yards.

Despite the expected growing pains with a rookie QB making his first NFL start (three turnovers), Maye had New England’s offense looking far more explosive than it was throughout the first few weeks of the 2024 season.

Speaking on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” Monday morning, Mayo discussed the Patriots’ line of thinking when it came to Maye’s development and the right time to slot him in as QB1.

Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf saw firsthand the positive gains that came from redshirting a promising young QB in Green Bay (Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love). But, Mayo denied that keeping Maye off the field was an option that the team weighed in 2024.

“As far as the plan is concerned, there were definitely different factors that go into that,” Mayo said. “From a roster standpoint in general — especially with our younger players — we had to see what we have this year no matter what the record is. When we get out of this season, we need to know exactly what we have from a talent standpoint and then fill the holes that we need to fill.

“So just to answer your question, I don’t know when Drake was going to play. Look, if we were undefeated at this point in time and he could ride it out a little longer, if we were protecting the quarterback at this time, maybe. But in saying that, I think you’ve gotta get a guy like (Maye) out there.”

As such, was the Patriots’ decision to wait until Week 6 to start Maye a result of the supporting cast around him — or the rookie QB’s own development?

“It was more based on seeing what we had up front with the offensive line,” Mayo acknowledged.

It’s a candid comment from Mayo, one that makes plenty of sense given New England’s pass protection woes through the first five weeks of the season. In Brissett’s five starts, New England’s porous O-line surrendered 17 sacks.

But it’s also a comment that stands in direct contradiction with Mayo’s previous comments about whether or not New England’s lackluster personnel up front was holding Maye out of game reps earlier this season.

As noted by Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald on Monday, both Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said earlier this season that questions regarding New England’s offensive line weren’t going to impact the decision as to when Maye would start.

“So even if Drake beats out Jacoby [Brissett], I mean, he earned that role,” Mayo said on Aug. 15 when asked if the offensive line would be an impediment toward Maye’s timeline as the team’s starter. “And we don’t really take that into consideration when he’s ready to go, and if he’s better than Jacoby, then he’ll play; he’ll start.”

Mayo later declared on Aug. 26 that Maye outright “outplayed” Brissett at that stage in the preseason before later sticking with Brissett at QB1.

On Oct. 3, Van Pelt also brushed aside talk that New England’s offensive line struggles were impacting Maye’s development and his eventual ascension as the team’s QB1.

“I would say no,” Van Pelt said on Oct. 3, as captured by WEEI’s Tom Carrol. “I think we just gotta continue doing what’s best for the team, and get us in a position to win on Sunday.”

Given New England’s O-line struggles to start the season, it made sense for Mayo and the Patriots to keep the team’s top asset in Maye off the field — at least to start the 2024 season.

The Patriots have found some stability at certain spots on the O-line, be it the emergence of Ben Brown at center or Mike Onwenu putting together stronger returns back at right guard.

But the mixed messaging when it comes to Mayo and the Patriots’ coaches when it came to the rationale for keeping Maye on the sideline comes off as odd — especially given the about-face presented on Monday.

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.