FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo has named Jacoby Brissett as the team’s starting quarterback after the veteran shut down a late charge from rookie Drake Maye, the third pick in the draft.
“We have decided, or I have decided, that Jacoby Priest is going to be our starting quarterback this season,” Mayo said Thursday. “With that said, we as an organization are behind Jacoby 100 percent. There’s no such thing as ‘you have a guy here, you have a guy there.’ We are behind Jacoby 100 percent.”
Priest spent all of spring and training camp as a starter, but the dynamic of the competition has changed over the past two weeks. Mayo previously said that once Maye became less respected, the gap between the two quarterbacks narrowed to the point where Maye was playing better than Priest in that time frame.
At the same time, Brest’s experience in the team system, along with his overall work since the spring, was taken into account in the decision-making process.
Asked if the decision meant Maye would be on the field for the long haul, Maye said: “I don’t want to make assumptions. We can’t go into the season saying, ‘He’s going to play for x weeks.’ As long as Jacoby plays the way we all trust him to, he’ll be our quarterback this season.”
Mayo said he spoke to both players individually and as a group.
“I feel like we’re all on the same page from an organizational perspective,” Mayo said. “There were a lot of factors that went into this choice. I think the hard part is thinking about the short-term and the long-term at the same time. However, we feel as an organization that Jacoby gives us the best chance to win right now.”
Mayo previously said the final decision on the starter was his, but that came after record-breaking talks with new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt.
Coaches have pointed to Brissett’s experience as crucial. He has 48 career starts, and in 2022 with the Cleveland Browns, he played in an offense similar to the one the Patriots ran under former Browns coordinator Van Pelt.
Van Pelt hinted that Priest would be the starter late last week, noting that May has been “impressive” but that “there’s still a process to how we bring in a rookie quarterback.” Van Pelt also pointed to the team’s developmental plan for May.
“There are certain things about this offense that Jacoby, having played in it, understands some of the tools you can use to get out of certain situations and pressure situations,” Van Pelt said. “Stuff like that Drake is still learning. He’s pushing.”
Brissett started all three of the Patriots’ preseason games, playing 27 total snaps and finishing 5-of-14 for 36 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
May followed Brissett in the three games, playing 66 snaps and completing 21 of 34 passes for 192 yards with one score and zero interceptions. He added seven rushes for 32 yards and one score.