Patriots HC Reveals Drake Maye's Odds to Play in Preseason Debut

Jerod Mayo gave some key intel for the New England Patriots' Thursday game.

Aug 03, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) throws a pass during training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots are set to finally play football for the first time in seven months on Thursday as their first preseason game of the year looms against the Carolina Panthers, giving fans their first look at this new and refreshed squad for the coming year.

With the action soon to be in store, questions have begun to loom surrounding New England's plans at quarterback for their preseason debut, and how the initial reps will fare for third-overall pick Drake Maye. Through the initial motions of Patriots training camp, offseason addition Jacoby Brissett has been consistently viewed as the starter ahead of the rookie QB for week one of the regular season, but the verdict has still been out when projecting what Maye's early role will look like against Carolina.

While Maye's status has been up in the air when asking Patriots' first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, it seems we have a bit more clarity on what to expect during this week's game.

According to Mayo, while Brissett is in line to take the starting snaps vs. the Panthers, the Patriots also plan to play Maye during the team's first preseason game of the year:

"Drake will play. Drake will play, and when he gets in the game, we'll talk about that, but he will play in the game. Look, everyone who is healthy enough to play in the game will play in the game. That's more than you've ever gotten before."

- Jerod Mayo on Drake Maye

Along with Maye getting a chance to see the field, Mayo also alluded to both of the other Patriots quarterbacks, Joe Milton III and Bailey Zappe, getting some time on Thursday as well:

"So, as of today, that's the plan, to have all of those [quarterbacks] out there playing. Once again, it goes back to competing. So, yesterday, you guys saw the live tackling period and things like that, that I think is very important. You don't want the first time these guys have to get hit or hit someone else to be in the preseason game. So, we've got to see what these guys can do with live action."

- Jerod Mayo, cont.

Getting a scope of the entire Patriots quarterback room during their bout vs. Carolina effectively give this staff a great starting point to see how the group of four performs during their first chance of live action for the season, for both ironing out the starting gig, as well as who may ultimately land as QB3 on the depth chart between Milton and Zappe.

The big ticket here, though, is Maye. In the event he presents a standout performance on top of a few eye-catching practices in camp, there's a world where the rookie enters the season with a further accelerated timeline to be dubbed QB1. The opportunity he holds may be limited at the moment, but in the wise words of Tom Brady, "his opportunity is going to be really what he makes of it."

The Patriots will kick off against the Panthers at home in Gillette Stadium, scheduled for 7:00 EST on NFL Network on Thursday.

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