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If you have a first-time head coach who did not hire his own offensive coordinator dealing with a quarterback battle between an experienced veteran who has mostly been a backup in his career and a very talented 21-year-old rookie short on experience, you should not be surprised if you wrap up the preseason with a bit of a messaging trainwreck. That’s sorta where the Patriots are right now.
For most of NFL training camp, the Patriots have been clear that veteran Jacoby Brissett is QB1 and that No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye would begin the season behind him. That is, until Monday, when head coach Jerod Mayo left open the door for Maye to be the starter in Week 1, given his fast development and the struggles Brissett has had in the preseason.
That was the first bit of confusion coming from Patriots Place this week.
On Thursday came QB confusion Round 2, as offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt backed the notion of keeping Brissett in the top job, saying, “He’s the starting quarterback,” while reluctantly deferring to Mayo’s idea of continued competition.
As Mark Bertrand of 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston said, “This guy’s all over the place. Messaging seems to be a problem for these coaches, those coaches being Jerod Mayo and Alex Van Pelt.”
Alex Van Pelt Appears at Odds With Jerod Mayo
Indeed, the idea of a quarterback competition between Brissett and Maye is not so much the issue. The disconnect between the team’s offensive coordinator and the head coach is, however, an issue.
On Monday, Mayo raised eyebrows across New England by indicating Maye has improved and may have done enough improvement to earnt he spot as the starter in Week 1. That went against everything the team had been saying about how it would handle Maye.
As NFL insider Ben Volin wrote in the Boston Globe: “After giving every impression that they were going to take things slowly with Maye, the Patriots aren’t going to scrap everything and make him the Week 1 starter, right?
“Right?”
Van Pelt seemed incredulous, too, telling reporters about Maye’s chance to be the Week 1 starter, “Coach said there is an open competition, we have one more game to go. I am sure there’s a chance. But I think as you go in, there is still a process about how you bring a rookie quarterback along. I think that’s important to remember as well.”
Brissett has gone 3-for-10 passing in two preseason games, with two interceptions, and that performance has not imbued much confidence in his ability to quarterback this team in two weeks.
But former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak—Bertrand’s partner on 98.5—pointed out that all this uncertainty is not going to help Brissett much.
“The more they talk about this and the more they say it is a competition and leaving that door open … you start believing the things you hear,” Zolak said. “Competition, competition. Jacoby tightens up, ‘I’m not the QB1 anymore,’ and Jacoby goes and plays like crap. Now, it is a competition.”
Patriots’ Drake Maye-Jacoby Brissett Decision Looms
Also at issue is the reality that the front office hired Van Pelt to be offensive coordinator, not Mayo. Van Pelt does not want to come to New England and watch the offense flop entirely, and having a 21-year-old rookie in charge will mean that Van Pelt’s reputation will be tarnished if Maye struggles.
Van Pelt has worked with Brissett before, in Cleveland, where the Browns went 4-7 with Brissett as a starter in 2022. Maye has the brighter long-term future, of course, but Van Pelt’s comfort level with Brissett has the OC clearly wanting Brissett in the job.
“There’s certain things in this offense that Jacoby, having played in this offense, understands some of the tools you can use to get yourself out of situations, pressure situations, things like that, that Drake is still learning …” Van Pelt said. “Rookie quarterback coming in and playing, obviously Jacoby has tons of experience, not just in the NFL but in this system. We won games with him in Cleveland. I feel comfortable with his understanding.”
Bertrand noted: “We won games together in Cleveland, oh my God, he needs to be the starter in New England in 2024 because these two guys won (four) games together in Cleveland?”
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