Jerod Mayo, veterans dish on QB competition, Matthew Judon and Davon Godchaux

On Tuesday, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo and a group of veteran players spoke at the podium at Gillette Stadium ahead of day one of training camp, which opens Wednesday morning.

The team will open camp without former head coach Bill Belichick at the helm for the first time since 2000. And outside of that massive overarching storyline that will color the entire 2024 season, the team has major question marks to address on both sides of the ball in the short-term.

On the offensive side of the ball, the question of if-and-when rookie Drake Maye will be the starting quarterback is a part of the everyday discourse amongst Patriots fans and media alike. Mayo told the media that Jacoby Brissett will begin camp as the starter, but did not close the door on the idea of Maye unseating the eight-year veteran.

“If [Maye] comes out here and he lights it up, and once again it goes back to the quality of reps, it could absolutely happen,” said Mayo. “Look, I’ll sit here and tell you that coming out of the spring, Jacoby looks like the starting quarterback. Now with that being said, we’re going to have competition.

“Let’s not forget about even Joe Milton. Let’s not forget about [Bailey] Zappe. All those guys will have opportunities to go out there and be the starting quarterback week one.”

Brissett comes into his ninth season with an 18-30 record as a starter. This is his second stint with the Patriots - the first coming in 2016 where he was memorably thrust into the starting job as a rookie for two games after Jimmy Garoppolo went down with an injury during Tom Brady’s four-game suspension. He then spent four seasons with the Colts (2017-20), and one season each with the Dolphins (2021), Browns (2022) and Commanders (2023).

On the defensive side of the ball, veterans Matthew Judon and Davon Godchaux both want new contracts. According to Mayo, both players have reported to camp, but whether either player will participate day one remains to be seen.

“The relationship [with Judon and Godchaux] is still good, from my perspective,” said Mayo. “Those are valuable pieces of this organization. They’ve done a lot for us, and hopefully we can get something done, and those guys are here.

“I want them here. Eliot [Wolf] wants them here. The team wants them here.”

Both Judon and Godchaux signed with the Patriots ahead of the 2021 season, and both will become unrestricted free agents after this season concludes. In an offseason that saw a slew of defensive players get new deals, these impact players on the defensive line want to join the contract party.

“Obviously [Judon] is a very significant part to what we want to do as a defense,” said veteran Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley. “I’m not going to get into all the stuff they got going on, leave that up to them.

“Him and [Davon Godchaux] are significant parts of this team, and we’d love to have them on the field. So whatever you do to get that done, hope you get done soon.”

Jonathan Jones, the veteran defensive back and longest tenured member of the Patriots defense, echoed Bentley’s sentiments.

“Football, especially on defense, it starts up front,” said Jones. “Those guys make a lot of plays. Those plays don’t always calculate in the statbook, but those are plays that are necessary. Judon putting pressure on the quarterbacks, makes our jobs easier. You build a defense from the front-back. So they’re very important.”

Whether Judon and Godchaux are partaking in a “hold in?” We’ll know the answer to that Wednesday morning.

Whether Maye will beat out Brissett for the job of starting quarterback? That will require some patience.