Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo was steadfast in his decision to name Jacoby Brissett as New England’s starting quarterback over rookie Drake Maye.
During a press conference Thursday, Mayo explained that he won’t entertain hypotheticals about when Maye — the Patriots’ No. 3 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft — will finally see the field as the club moves forward with the veteran as their top signal-caller.
“I don’t want to get into hypotheticals,” Mayo, 38, said. “We can’t go into the season saying ‘Well, he’s going to go ‘X’ amount of weeks.
“Look, as long as Jacoby is going out there performing the way we all have confidence in him doing, he’ll be our quarterback this season.”
Mayo’s brief but stern explanation came after a reporter noted that the coach said Brissett will be the Patriots’ starting quarterback “this season” — and asked if that meant there is “no possibility” of Maye competing this season.
The coach said he spoke with Brissett and Maye both separately and together.
“I feel like we’re all on the same page from an organizational perspective,” he added.
Mayo made it clear that he won’t put a timeline on the situation, and believes Brissett is the best quarterback for the job.
He emphasized the Patriots are “100 percent behind” Brissett.
The Patriots will lean on Brissett’s services to bounce back after finishing last season at the bottom of the AFC East with a 4-13 record — the franchise’s worst mark since 1992.
Mayo, who was a Super Bowl champion linebacker across eight season with the Patriots, took over for Bill Belichick in January, when the future Hall of Fame coach and the club broke up after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl titles.
The Patriots open the 2024 regular season against the Bengals in Cincinnati on Sept. 8.
