Patriots' Jacoby Brissett Had Classy Messages for Drake Maye After Getting Benched

The veteran has been here before.
Brissett went 1-4 in five games as New England's starter
Brissett went 1-4 in five games as New England's starter / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Jacoby Brissett was brought in by the New England Patriots this offseason to serve as a bridge, a quarterback to line up under center while the long-term future of the position in Drake Maye sits safely on the sideline. The bridge ended up rather short, however, as Brissett's play combined with the Patriots' 1-4 record to open the year led to Jerod Mayo benching the journeyman for the rookie heading into Week 6.

Earlier this week, Maye and Mayo met with media to break down the decision. On Thursday, it was Brissett's turn to face the music. He has taken the turn of events like a true vet with little complaint and had several classy messages for the young buck replacing him.

"I told somebody this the other day, 'I've been through harder things in my life. I'm sure this won't be the last time I go through something hard," Brissett said when asked how he was dealing with the news. "So I'll be all right. Drake asked me how I'm doing and I'm like 'Man, if you're worried about me, you're worried about the wrong thing right now.' I can take care of myself. I obviously appreciated that, but I'll be all right."

Brissett went on to compliment Maye and make it clear there's no animosity.

"Great kid. Great kid. No malice in my heart toward him. I just want the best for him. I'm very excited for him."

All class from the veteran quarterback.

Maye will make his first start on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET against the Houston Texans in front of his home fans at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.


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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.