The Patriots will host their division rivals at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
On Monday, Jerod Mayo said that starting quarterback Drake Maye sitting out the upcoming regular season finale against the Buffalo Bills was “in consideration.” Two days later, the New England Patriots’ head coach updated his position on the matter.
Unless unforeseen circumstance force a change, Maye will indeed play in the Week 18 contest at Gillette Stadium.
“Drake is our starting quarterback,” Mayo said during a press conference on Wednesday. “If he’s healthy and ready to go, as we go through this week of practice, then he’ll play.”
Maye’s health has been in the spotlight since he briefly exited Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. The 22-year-old got hit in the head on a scramble play, and went into the locker room for a concussion check. He eventually returned to play deep into the fourth quarter, but some uncertainty remained.
However, Maye continued not to show any concussion symptoms heading into Week 18. As a result, he should fulfill the “healthy and ready to go” criteria mentioned by Mayo.
“I’m feeling good,” Maye said during his own Wednesday presser. “I’m excited to get out here at practice.”
New England’s first-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, Maye made his starting debut in Week 6. Since then, he has completed 67.2 percent of his pass attempts for 2,254 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Two weeks ago, in the Patriots’ first meeting with the Bills, he went 22-of-36 (61.1%) for 261 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT in a 24-21 loss. Maye went wire-to-wire in that game, but there is no guarantee the same thing will happen on Sunday: with Buffalo set to mix starters and backups, New England could do the same — including at quarterback.
Maye is not concerned about potentially getting removed from the game early, though. His focus, meanwhile, is on preparing for and ultimately beating the Bills.
“I’m preparing like I’m the starter. I think I’m going to be the starter, so I’m looking forward to being out there,” he said.
“I’m ready to go out there and win and compete in a close game. I want to be out there. You get experiences in these close games that you can’t replicate in practice. You can’t get those reps anywhere else. So, looking forward to getting one more chance at these guys and end off on a good note.”
A win on Sunday could come at a cost for the Patriots. The current owners of the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, they are likely to drop from the top spot if they end up beating Buffalo.
Kickoff between the two AFC East rivals has been set for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 5.