Patriots' Drake Maye: Backing up Brissett in Week 1

Link copied!

Head coach Jerod Mayo has informed his team that Jacoby Brissett will be the Patriots' starting quarterback in Week 1 against the Bengals, while Maye will serve as Brissett's backup, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports.

Though Brissett appeared to have the upper hand in the competition for much of the summer, Maye -- the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft -- made a late push for the job. However, the Patriots coaching staff ultimately elected to turn to the more experience Brissett to helm the offense to begin the season. That said, Maye, who turns 22 years old Friday, is no doubt viewed as the team's quarterback of the future, and the North Carolina product has plenty of upside down the road. Maye boasts the prototypical size (6-foot-4, 225 pounds) for the position and possesses the arm talent and mobility of a potential star signal-caller.