Could Drake Maye start under center for the New England Patriots in Week 1 after all?
Head coach Jerod Mayo isn't ruling out the possibility. After Thursday's preseason game vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, Mayo told reporters there is "definitely still a competition" between the rookie first-round pick and veteran signal-caller Jacoby Brissett.
That comment came after Maye outplayed Brissett in the Patriots' 14-13 loss to Philly. Maye completed six of his 11 passes for 47 yards and added a rushing touchdown for his first NFL TD. Brissett went 3 for 7 with 17 yards and an interception on a pass intended for tight end Austin Hooper in the end zone.
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Those numbers should give Mayo and Co. something to ponder ahead of the regular-season opener, but is there really still a legitimate competition for the starting job? Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard weighed in on Early Edition with our Phil Perry and Tom E. Curran.
"Do I think it should be a competition? Yes. Do I think it will be a competition? I don't know," Bedard said. "But until Jerod Mayo and (offensive coordinator) Alex Van Pelt put Drake Maye into practice with the starters, it's lip service. Like, it's not a competition until that happens, and that has not happened for one single snap the entire summer. He could keep talking about it, but they need to do it."
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Host Trenni Casey asked the panel whether it believes Maye could get first-team reps over the next couple of weeks.
"I do," Perry answered. "I think number one, Drake Maye was good enough. But number two, Jacoby Brissett was bad enough to take some of those reps away. Again, meritocracy. You play poorly, other guy plays well, we're gonna reconfigure things in practice."
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Curran pointed out that Maye -- albeit one of the most talented QBs in the draft -- was considered a developmental project, and coaches may have already decided how they will proceed with the No. 3 overall pick.
"It's also the hangover of, these are the things we said in the offseason. We called him a project. We said he was developmental," Curran said. "(Sports Illustrated's) Albert Breer stood earlier this week and talked about it and said in talking to people when he got here, Alex Van Pelt and (vice president of player personnel) Eliot Wolf and the rest of the staff looked at him and said, 'Whoa, this is a real big problem that we have to work on here.' And I trust Albert's reporting.
"So, they have already decided the route that they will be taking with him. And I think, hey, Alex Van Pelt, if you've done this much to fix him this much, reap the benefits."
If there is a real QB competition, the Patriots' preseason finale could settle it. New England will return to action Sunday, Aug. 25 against the Washington Commanders at 8 p.m. ET.
You can watch the full Early Edition segment below or on YouTube: