Jerod Mayo explains what factors will decide Patriots' QB competition

New England Patriots players will be the first to know if Drake Maye or Jacoby Brissett won the team’s quarterback competition.

Head coach Jerod Mayo said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” that he wants to announce the starter to the team after roster cuts before telling the media about the decision.

In saying that, Mayo acknowledged that Maye has outplayed Brissett but that the team plans to “take in the whole body of work, going all the way back to the spring and beginning of training camp” to make their decision.

“I think there are multiple factors that kind of have to go into this decision,” Mayo said Monday on a conference call with the media. “One is the total body of work, whether we’re talking about the spring or the entirety of training camp. And now, I’d also say oftentimes we forget about just the overall experience that a guy like Jacoby has, which will also be weighted in the decision that we have to make here in the near future.

“But I’m happy with the way those guys are battling it out, and hopefully over the next couple of days, we can name the starter and get the season rolling.”

Maye is 21-of-34 for 192 yards with one touchdown in three preseason games, while Brissett is 5-of-14 for 36 yards with an interception. Maye also has seven rushing attempts for 34 yards with a touchdown.

The rookie looked excellent in Sunday’s 20-10 preseason loss to the Commanders, going 13-of-20 for 125 yards with a touchdown and rushing three times for 17 yards.

The third overall pick turned a corner nearly two weeks ago in a joint practice with the Eagles on Aug. 13. Since that point, Maye has outplayed Brissett in preseason games and training camp practices.

Mayo did caution that sometimes NFL teams try to develop a rookie quarterback too quickly.

“We’ve all seen the horror stories of sometimes rookie quarterbacks just, getting thrown to the wolves and they fall apart, and we didn’t want that to happen,” Mayo said on WEEI of the Patriots’ plan with Maye heading into the summer. “Now, I’m not saying that would happen with Drake at all, because he is a mentally tough person and shows great resilience and control of the ball.”

The Patriots also have their offensive line to consider as it relates to playing Maye too early. Brissett injured his right shoulder taking a sack in the first quarter of Sunday’s preseason finale. The Patriots’ offensive line was flagged 10 times, including eight penalties in the first half, in the loss to the Commanders.

Mayo said on WEEI that regardless of the offensive line situation, if Maye wins the competition, then he will start.

“I think every situation is unique, because I don’t want to fall into this narrative fallacy or anything like that, because you have seen rookie quarterbacks go out there and perform at a high level,” Mayo said. “I don’t know how the story ends with Drake’s rookie season, but all possibilities are open, and we’ll see what happens with who we name the starter here in the near future.”

Mayo indicated Sunday night that Brissett’s injury wasn’t serious and that he could have continued playing.

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