Jacoby Brissett named Patriots QB1 ahead of Drake Maye; will start Week 1 against Bengals | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

The New England Patriots are relying on experience rather than potential at the start of the 2024 season.

The Patriots confirmed Thursday that veteran Jacoby Brissett will start at quarterback in their Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, meaning rookie and No. 3 pick Drake Maye will begin his first NFL season on the bench.

Ian Rapoport NFL Network originally reported on the decision to use Brissett as quarterback.

Maye played well enough during training camp and preseason to extend the competition until shortly before the start of the regular season.

Chad Graff of The Athletic noted that the coaching staff “made it clear that Jacoby Brissett was the team’s starter” at the beginning of training camp before “their language changed and they called it a competition” before the final preseason game.

Nevertheless, head coach Jerod Mayo said before the final preseason game, “Jacoby is still QB1,” even if he believed it was more of a “competition,” and praised Maye as someone who was “100 percent” ready to lead the offense against NFL competition.

Brissett suffered a Shoulder injury in this preseason game against the Washington Commanders, which gave Maye the opportunity to play even more, completing 13 of 20 passes for 126 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions.

Still, the job ultimately went to Brissett, and he will be tasked with helping the Patriots recover from two consecutive losing seasons that led to a shakeup at the quarterback position in the offseason.

In March, they agreed to a one-year, $8 million contract with Brissett, marking a fourth team in four years for the playmaker. He played for the Indianapolis Colts in 2020, the Miami Dolphins in 2021, the Cleveland Browns in 2022 and the Washington Commanders in 2023.

New England is the team that drafted the migrant worker in the third round in 2016, but he only stayed with the AFC East team for one season during his first tenure.

The Patriots also traded Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars in March and then made Maye the franchise quarterback of the future by selecting him No. 3 in the 2024 draft in April.

Maye was named ACC Player of the Year in 2022 at North Carolina, completing 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,321 yards, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions and shining in top games against Notre Dame and Oregon.

This led to a lot of hype ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft, and he responded by completing 63.3 percent of his passes for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

This was enough to convince the Patriots to take him so early in the draft, but he still has to wait to take the field in a regular season game.

As for Brissett, he did not start a single game last season, but he started 16 games for the Browns in 2022, starting 11 times. This year, he went 4-7 as a starter, completing 64 percent of his passes for 2,608 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.

He brings a ton of experience and is an ideal bridge quarterback until Maye is ready, as he can keep the team afloat but probably isn’t good enough to keep the rookie at bay all year.