Jerod Mayo must do everything to keep Drake Maye from starting in Week 1

We are now approaching the opening kickoff of the NFL season and teams are busy with their 53-man rosters.

Some teams, like the New England Patriots, are having trouble finding their starting quarterback before the season opener.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has not yet made a decision on who will serve as the starting pitcher. This has confused both fans and the media, especially after admitting that first-round pick Drake Maye has consistently performed better than Jacoby Brissett in practice and the preseason. So what’s the problem?

Former Patriots running back James White recently commented on the situation. White explained why the decision is taking so long and why the outcome may not be what fans and experts expect.

“Mayo said in his press conference that Drake Maye is better than Jacoby Brissett in a head-to-head competition, but he’s still the second-best quarterback on the roster,” White said on the “Money Down” podcast. “People were like, ‘That doesn’t make sense.’ It makes perfect sense. When there’s a competition, the best player can’t win the competition. That’s just the nature of the sport. It doesn’t matter how talented you are, how good you are. Whoever shows up in that competition could go out there and win it.”

Mayo doesn’t want to start Maye until he’s completely ready. Starting him too soon could stunt his development, cause him to stagnate or even regress as a player. The Patriots want to avoid that at all costs.

Even though Maye is better than Brissett, Joe Milton and the now-released Bailey Zappe, he won’t start until he’s completely ready. The Patriots would rather lose games than risk destroying the development of their valuable young player.

Mayo had a solid plan coming into the season, a blueprint that other teams had laid out in the past. That plan probably went something like this: Maye should sit behind Brissett, learn to move and act like an NFL quarterback, and then he should insert the rookie when he’s ready. But Mayo figured that would take time, and… it just didn’t. Maye ruined that whole plan when he came in and played better than anyone expected.

Patriots fans might be upset if Brissett is named the starter. If that’s the case, it doesn’t mean Brissett is the better player. It just means the team is being patient with Maye.