Drake Maye's time is now for the New England Patriots.
Maye, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, is replacing Jacoby Brissett as the Pats' starting quarterback, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday.
The 22-year-old Maye will make his starting debut on Sunday against the Houston Texans in front of the home fans at Gillette Stadium.
Mayo had been steadfast in sticking with Brissett since he won the starting job this summer. However, the first-year head coach seemed to hint at a change on Monday.
"We have to look at every single unit and every single player and figure out how we use this roster to go out there and win games," he said, via team transcript, when asked if he anticipated discussing a potential QB change.
The switch from the veteran Brissett to the rookie Maye comes after the nine-year vet completed 52.9% of his passes for 160 yards in a 15-10 loss to an injury-plagued Miami Dolphins team on Sunday. The Patriots' passing offense is dead last in the league, with Brissett having yet to throw for 200 yards in a game and connecting for just two touchdown passes.
Following a stunning season-opening upset of the Cincinnati Bengals, the Patriots have lost four in a row with an offense that's 31st in points scored and hasn't scored more than 20 points in a game.
The immediate hope will be for Maye to inject some life into the offense and the fanbase.
More mobile than Brissett and perhaps able to get the ball out quicker, Maye could lead an uptick in production. He outplayed Brissett down the stretch of the preseason, but Mayo and Co. went the veteran route, which seemed to be the plan all along.
However, the offense's struggles are hardly on Brissett's shoulders alone. He was hammered on a weekly basis thanks in large part to a porous New England offensive line. Brissett's been pressured on a league-high 50% of his dropbacks, more than 4 percentage points above second-place Will Levis at 45.9%, per Next Gen Stats.
So, there's obviously a risk to throw Maye to the proverbial wolves -- who will be the likes of the Texans' Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. on Sunday. The other side of the coin is the belief that the best way to get Maye ready to take over as the Patriots' franchise QB will be live reps.
Thus, while the Patriots' struggles in the here and now have likely driven the timing of the change, this is a long-view decision.
It's now Maye's time to take over, to begin maturing as an NFL quarterback with massive potential and ample pressure to lead a proud franchise back to the glory days that have so quickly dissipated since the departure of Tom Brady.
Sunday will not be Maye's NFL debut. That came during garbage time of a 24-3 Week 3 defeat against the New York Jets. Maye was 4 of 8 for 22 yards with two rushes for 12 yards, but there was little to take away from the cameo.
It will be in Week 6 that Maye will truly begin to make his first impression.
He will be the fourth of a much-ballyhooed 2024 first-round quarterback draft class to notch his first NFL start this season, following the Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams (No. 1 overall), the Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels (No. 2) and the Denver Broncos' Bo Nix (No. 12). The Atlanta Falcons' Michael Penix Jr. (No. 8) remains his squad's backup, while the Minnesota Vikings' J.J. McCarthy (No. 10) is out for the season with a knee injury.
Williams, Daniels and Nix have all begun to settle in with promising-to-outstanding results, having been their teams' starters since the season dawned. Maye, however, clearly has less talent surrounding him and his mettle and toughness are likely to be tested as much as his talents. Ready or not, though, his time has arrived.
The Patriots and Texans kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET and so too will the Maye era.
