Tom Brady weighs in on whether Patriots decision to sit Drake Maye is the right move
Should Drake Maye be the Patriots' starting quarterback? Here's how Brady answered.
Drake Maye will begin his rookie season as a backup, coach Jerod Mayo announced last week.
Jacoby Brissett gets the nod as the starter while the rookie will have the opportunity to watch and learn as he acclimates to the league.
This approach falls in line with Tom Brady’s preferred way of doing things.
Brady said during a recent appearance on FS1’s The Herd that, having sat behind Drew Bledsoe during his first year in New England, he likes to see teams take their time to develop young quarterbacks.
FS1’s Colin Cowherd asked Brady if he would start Maye if he were in Patriots coach Jerod Mayo’s shoes.
“I’ve gone on record to say that I think it’s best in my opinion for young quarterbacks, rookie quarterbacks to kind of watch a veteran do it,” Brady said. “There’s so much that goes on and quarterbacks need to process so much information so quickly.”
“I think if you can have someone — I sat behind Drew Bledsoe my first year — what a great player he was, someone I got to watch and learn from,” Brady added. “Aaron Rodgers watched behind Brett Favre. Patrick Mahomes watched behind Alex Smith. When you have a real pro in front of you, they can really help with that leaning curve.”
Maye will have the opportunity to learn from Brissett, a nine-year veteran whose stops include New England (twice) Cleveland, and Indianapolis. Brissett has played in Alex Van Pelt’s offense before, and he knows what it’s like to be a rookie quarterback drafted by the Patriots.
“Obviously he and Drake have a great relationship, which I think there’s no better person for Drake to learn from in this offense,” offensive lineman David Andrews said of Brissett. “He’s experience in it. Just consistency, showing up every day. That’s stuff that goes back to how he was when he was a young guy.”
Maye, who was the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft, will get his chance eventually, Brady said, but it won’t hurt for the Patriots to be patient with their potential franchise quarterback.
“Ultimately those young players are going to get opportunities,” Brady said. “The franchises need those young quarterbacks to come in and take a big step and lead those franchises on and into the future. I just like to give them a little bit of time to acclimate to the pro game, and the pro schedule. It’s a big difference between college football and professional football.”
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