Albert Breer and Phil Perry debate whether the Patriots’ final preseason game matters more for Jacoby Brissett or Drake Maye
According to head coach Jerod Mayo, the New England Patriots' quarterback competition will continue through Sunday's preseason finale vs. the Washington Commanders. The team expects to name its Week 1 starter on Monday or Tuesday.
Mayo said all four Patriots QBs will play on Sunday, but all eyes will be on Jacoby Brissett and rookie Drake Maye as they battle for the top of the depth chart. Although offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt seems to prefer rolling with Brissett to begin the season, Maye will have another opportunity to show he's ready to start in the NFL after outplaying the veteran in last week's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
So, which Pats QB has the most to prove in the preseason finale? Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated joined Friday's Early Edition and debated the topic with our Patriots insider Phil Perry.
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"Brissett, I would say," Breer said. "I think the way Brissett has played and the way Brissett has looked is why they're talking the way that they're talking down there. Because, look, any new coach is dealing with this. This is not a new thing. A theme in every training camp with every first-year coach is competition, and most first-year coaches will open up competition at as many positions as they can. And it's really hard for a coach if he establishes a starter and that starter doesn't perform.
"So, being able to sell Jacoby Brissett to the locker room -- and remember, the locker room doesn't care about your three-year plan. The locker room doesn't care what's best for Drake Maye in 2028. They care about right now. Most of those guys don't know if they're gonna be here in 2025. They have their own careers to worry about. And so, part of this is selling a quarterback to the locker room. And if Drake Maye looks better, if you're a receiver or you're a lineman or you're a tight end and you're worried about what your career is gonna look like after this year, and you think the more capable guy is sitting on the bench, then that's a problem and that's something that Jerod Mayo as a first-year coach has to navigate."
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Perry took the opposite side in the debate. He believes the preseason finale matters more for Maye because even if Brissett is already the clearcut Week 1 starter, another solid performance by the rookie would speed up his process toward earning the QB1 job.
"That's why I would argue that it actually matters more for Drake Maye, is because he is somebody who can move," Perry said. "There is some mobility there potentially for him up the depth chart, which Jacoby Brissett, we sort of know what that is. We understand that he is, in all likelihood, barring something extreme, going to be the starter Week 1. But if Drake Maye performs and performs well, especially with some of the little things at the position -- meaning, can he identify the blitz, get the team out of a bad play and into a good one? Is his footwork as clean as they want it to be for whenever they decide he is ready to play?
"This could, if he has a good performance, sort of expedite his process to becoming the number one guy. Which we know is an inevitability, It's just a question of when. And so, if he goes out against the Commanders and it's preseason, it's gonna be relatively vanilla everything that he sees. But if everything is borderline immaculate, then that expedites, in my opinion, the timeline for the rookie."
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Brissett is expected to start under center in Sunday's game with Maye entering as the Patriots' second QB. Fellow rookie Joe Milton and third-year signal-caller Bailey Zappe are likely to get snaps in the second half.
Kickoff for Patriots-Commanders is set for 8 p.m. ET.
