Drake Maye made his NFL debut late in Patriots’ loss to Jets

BOSTON — Drake Maye made his NFL debut for the Patriots on Thursday night, relieving veteran Jacoby Brissett late in the team’s 24-3 loss to the New York Jets. Could a permanent change be coming in New England?

Head coach Jerod Mayo wouldn’t say after the game.

“I don’t know. We talk about every single week, you’re competing for a job. We’ll get together as a coaching staff and see how it goes,” Mayo said Thursday night.

Chances are the Patriots will go right back to Brissett. But Mayo and his staff have a week-and-a-half to decide before the Patriots play the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4.  

Drake Maye comes in for Jacoby Brissett late in loss to Jets

After Brissett was sacked five times and managed just 98 passing yards against the New York defense, Maye entered with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter with the Patriots down 24-3. His first NFL pass was nearly picked off, as he televised a throw to tight end Austin Hooper and Michael Carter nearly jumped the route. After a second-down handoff to Antonio Gibson picked up seven yards, Maye was violently taken down by Jamien Sherwood for a one-yard scramble.

Maye was sacked on a first-down drop back after the two-minute warning. He used his legs and scrambled for 11 yards on a fourth-and-8, and then after three straight incompletions, he connected with DeMario Douglas for 15 yards to keep the drive alive and get the Patriots down to the New York 7-yard line. 

But the drive — and the game — ended when Maye was sacked on first-and-goal. He completed four of his eight passes for 22 yards while scrambling for 12 yards on two carries in his professional debut.

Mayo said it was his decision to insert Maye on Thursday night. While he was worried about the state of the offensive line, which gave up seven sacks and 15 QB hits on the night, he saw a chance to get the rookie some game action.

“Good opportunity for him to get out with the ones and put a few drives together. He moved the ball,” Mayo said of Maye. “We’ll watch the film and evaluate.”

Maye said he was ready when his number was called, and was excited for the chance to make some plays.

“Just get ready to go out there. No regrets, go out and have some fun,” he said. “My first pass got tipped so I’m glad it hit the ground.”

Maye was happy to get a few first downs on his 16 plays, but added that he “can’t take stupid sacks.”

Jacoby Brissett responds to Drake Maye playing vs. Jets

Brissett was asked about being replaced by Maye, and he was as professional as ever. Asked if he believes the starting job is still his, Brissett replied “of course.”

“I don’t make personnel decisions. My job is to go out and get ready to play, put good football on tape, and put my best foot forward,” he said.

Brissett was asked about Mayo being non-committal about his starting quarterback going forward, but didn’t want to say much. 

“I’m not going to overreact to something I didn’t hear,” he said.

Maye gave Brissett some props for battling throughout the game on Thursday. 

“He kept getting up every time. He made some great throws tonight,” Maye said of Brissett. “I’m pulling for him. He’s a great teammate.”

Will this speed up New England’s plan for Drake Maye?

The Patriots had planned to take things slow with their potential franchise quarterback, but now might have to throw him into the fire given how lifeless the offense has been with Brissett under center. However, the struggles of the offensive line might keep Maye on the bench for a little longer.

The Patriots drafted Maye third overall in April out of North Carolina and he showed a lot of growth throughout training camp and the preseason. He didn’t play much in New England’s preseason opener, completing two of his three passes for 19 yards. But he saw extended time on the field in the second preseason game, and completed six of his 11 passes for 47 yards while adding a four-yard touchdown run on a nice read option.

In New England’s preseason finale, Maye was 13-of-20 for 126 yards and a touchdown pass against the Washington Commanders. He finished his preseason 21-of-34 for 192 yards with one touchdown pass and a touchdown run. 

While Brissett beat out Maye to be the team’s Week 1 starting quarterback, Mayo confirmed last week that Maye was getting about 30 percent of the reps with New England’s starters in practice. Mayo said backups usually only get about five percent of the snaps with starters, but the extended run with the team’s starters was part of Maye’s development plan.

Now we’ll see if that plan is fast-tracked to give the New England offense some life, or if concerns about the offensive line will keep the Maye in a safe place on the sideline.