Breer: Pats have to stick with Drake Maye ‘sink or swim’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots naming Drake Maye their Week 6 starter isn’t an experiment. They’re in it for the long haul with the prized third-overall pick they hope is their next franchise quarterback.
It’s a risky move for head coach Jerod Mayo and Co. Maye will step in behind the league’s offensive line with a less-than-stellar group of playmakers around him. While he may be more talented than Jacoby Brissett, it’s far from a guarantee he’ll fare any better than the veteran signal-caller in his first real taste of NFL action.
And what if Maye’s struggles persist beyond Sunday’s game vs. the Houston Texans? On Wednesday’s Early Edition, Albert Breer or Sports Illustrated emphasized the need for New England to stick with its rookie QB through tough times.
“That’s why this is a monumental decision,” Breer said. “Because once you do this, you generally don’t go back. And I think the one example we can dig up of a team doing this and then going back turned out to be a complete disaster. That was Miami with Tua Tagovailoa in 2020. It wound up in the long run getting Brian Flores fired from there.
“That is always a huge part of these decisions, is that once you make the decision, the kid is out there come hell or high water. For his own confidence’s sake, you cannot pull him out of there. You have to leave him out there, sink or swim. It’s Drake’s show from here on out.”
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Maye joins Caleb Williams (Chicago Bears), Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders), and Bo Nix (Denver Broncos) in the group of rookies starting under center this season. His fellow first-year QBs have a combined 10-5 record through the first five weeks.
The Patriots enter Sunday’s game vs. Houston with a 1-4 record, their lone win coming in their season opener vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. The Texans (4-1) are coming off an impressive win over Josh Allen — Maye’s most popular NFL comp — and the Buffalo Bills. Their stingy pass defense presents a challenging first test for the 22-year-old.
Maye’s first start is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
