Maye made his NFL debut Thursday night.
New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye made his NFL debut late in a 24-3 loss to the New York Jets Thursday night.
The rookie finished 4-of-8 for 22 yards with two carries for 12 yards while being sacked twice. He took over on the Patriots final drive with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter after starter Jacoby Brissett completed just 12-of-18 for 98 yards with five sacks.
“I thought it was a good opportunity for [Drake] to go out there with the ones and put a few drives together, move the ball,” head coach Jerod Mayo said. “We’ll watch the film and evaluate.”
Mayo would not rule out if that film evaluation could potentially lead to a quarterback change.
“I don’t know. We talk about it every single week, you’re competing for a job. So, we’ll get together as a coaching staff and see how it goes,” Mayo said.
Thursday’s game highlighted the difficult decision the Patriots coaching staff has to make when it comes to their rookie quarterback. Brissett was under pressure on over 50 percent of his drop backs Thursday and took double digit hits — an unsustainable rate for any quarterback, specifically a rookie.
The offensive line play made Mayo consider exposing his rookie quarterback Thursday night, who ended up taking two sacks and another big hit of his own.
“In the second half, I felt like our offensive line, they just weren’t playing the way they were in earlier parts of the game,” Mayo explained. “It definitely was something that I thought of personally, but at the same time, I thought it was too good of an opportunity for him to get out there and get some experience.”
While New England’s offensive line may make it hard for the team to insert the rookie under center, Mayo’s non-committal answer was a change from recent weeks when he’s made it clear the organization is “100 percent” behind Brissett.
If Maye’s number is then called, the rookie is ready.
“That’s kind of what I’m doing week in, week out, being ready when my name is called, when my number’s called, go out there and try to make some plays,” Maye said in the locker room. “I’ve been preparing like I’m the starter and the same time, I’ve been there for Jacoby. He battled tonight. He kept on getting up every time, jogging off, encouraging guys on the sideline. He made some great throws tonight.”