Phil Perry reacts to recent comments from a Patriots reporter about a sense of ‘mutiny’ in the locker room and shares why he believes the opinion is overblown, but also any potential accuracy is likely to be wiped out in recent weeks once the team turns to Drake Maye.
Is the New England Patriots' unwillingness to start Drake Maye amid their 1-3 start causing a rift in the locker room?
Head coach Jerod Mayo adamantly stated after the team's Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers that Jacoby Brissett remains "the best choice" to start at quarterback. Apparently, the ongoing QB conversation has contributed to a "mutiny" inside the building.
“Right now they are teetering on mutiny in that locker room. And I don’t want to be an alarmist or (hyperbolic)… I don’t," Patriots.com senior reporter Evan Lazar said on the “Catch 22” podcast. "But I was in that locker room after the game on Sunday. The defense is mad at the defense, the offense is mad at the offense. You have young receivers who are literally throwing tantrums on film. ...
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“You’re at the point now with 52 other guys in that locker room that all watch both these two quarterbacks practice every single day. That all know that they drafted Drake Maye third overall. And at what point in time do some of these guys say to themselves, ‘Why am I going out there and getting my butt kicked every single Sunday and Drake can’t?'"
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Lazar's eye-opening comments made waves, especially since he works for the organization. Our Patriots insider Phil Perry reacted to the remarks and shared his take on the Pats' QB situation on Friday's Early Edition.
"I've said what Evan was trying to get to at the core of his comments, which is, it's gonna get weird if you continue not to play Drake Maye and the offense continues to be at the bottom of the league," Perry said. "So I have to be consistent and say, I sort of agree with him on that point. I do not agree with him on the point yet that it is 'teetering on mutiny.' I think that's just too strong."
Perry also provided intel on where Mayo and the Patriots coaching staff stand on playing Maye this season. He believes the plan is to play the rookie "a significant amount" later this season.
"What I've been told is they are all aligned in terms of the plan for Drake Maye, and my belief is they have a window of time that they envision Drake Maye playing," Perry said. "And he is going to play. He's going to play this year whether or not the offensive line is an utter crap show. He's going to be out there eventually. The question is not if, but when.
"And so, to me, this is the difficult part of Jerod Mayo's job, where you knew the team might be bad and you knew you wanted to sit the young quarterback and let him rest or let him develop, but at some point the players on the field are going to feel a certain kind of way about not getting potentially all the help that they feel like they should. Especially when, as we reported a couple of weeks ago, he's out there practicing. He's getting first-team reps and he's looking good with those reps.
"So they know -- they have an idea at least -- of what Drake Maye can be and at some point, my guess is they're going to want him on the field. ... I think this is gonna be put to bed because I do think he's going to be out there. I think they want him to play a significant amount this year."
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After an encouraging start to the season, the Patriots offense has been virtually non-existent during its three-game losing streak. Brissett has thrown for only 415 yards and two touchdowns with one interception (a pick-six) over his last three games. He hasn't been able to get the ball into the hands of his open receivers, including second-year wideout DeMario Douglas who expressed his frustration during Sunday's loss to San Francisco.
Maye made his brief NFL debut at the end of the Patriots' Week 3 loss to the New York Jets. The third overall draft pick was 4 for 8 with 22 yards and was sacked twice behind the team's struggling offensive line.
Even with a dysfunctional offense, the Patriots will have a chance to snap their skid this Sunday against a banged-up Miami Dolphins team. The Dolphins, also with a 1-3 record, will start third-string quarterback Tyler Huntley in the Week 5 matchup.
Kickoff for Pats-Dolphins is set for 1 p.m. ET.
Watch the full Early Edition discussion below or on YouTube:
