Patriots to start rookie Drake Maye as quarterback: reports
The new era has arrived in Foxborough.
After he backed up Jacoby Brissett for the first five games of the season, the New England Patriots are reportedly set to name Drake Maye as their starting quarterback.
New England selected the quarterback out of North Carolina with the third overall pick after fielding several offers from teams to move up – ultimately, they decided to stick to their guns.
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Brissett was named the starter in training camp, and given the difficulty of their schedule, it made sense to not want to plug in a rookie right away.
Granted, New England did upset the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 on the road, but the Pats have since lost four in a row.
Brissett has completed just 58.5% of his passes for two touchdowns, and the Pats are widely regarded as possibly the worst team in the NFL, along with the Carolina Panthers.
In his two seasons at North Carolina, Maye threw for 7,929 yards with a 64.9% completion rate. He threw for 62 touchdowns and 16 interceptions while running for 16 more scores. He was All-ACC first-team in 2022 and second-team last season. He passed for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns last season.
Maye made his NFL debut in New England's 24-3 loss to the Jets in New Jersey, completing four of his eight passes after they sat Brissett.
His first start will come in a home game on Sunday, as the Patriots host the high-powered Houston Texans, who will likely be without Nico Collins after a hamstring injury.
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