Is starting Drake Maye the right move? Mike Florio weighs in originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Drake Maye era in Foxboro will begin this Sunday.
Our Patriots insider Phil Perry confirmed the rookie quarterback will replace Jacoby Brissett as the New England Patriots’ starter for their Week 6 showdown with the Houston Texans. Maye already made his official NFL debut in Week 3 vs. the New York Jets, but this will mark the first real look at the team’s prized No. 3 overall draft pick.
Some are understandably wary of putting Maye behind the Patriots’ porous offensive line. Brissett has been sacked a whopping 17 times through five games, tying him for the third-highest total in the league.
Others believe there’s no better time to start Maye with the team at 1-4 and struggling to push the ball downfield with Brissett at the helm. The Patriots’ passing game has been virtually non-existent amid the team’s four-game losing skid, so they might as well see how it looks with their young gunslinger under center.
Which side does ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio land on? He joined Tom E. Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast to share his take on Maye being named New England’s starting signal-caller.
🔊 Patriots Talk Podcast: Instant reaction to the Patriots making move to Drake Maye | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
“I go back to something I said when they drafted Draft Maye, and we started to hear it’s Jacoby Brissett and that was just real, not coach speak or managing expectations. If your guy that you take with the third overall pick isn’t going to be ready Week 1, take somebody else,” Florio said.
“And I don’t know what this was, other than we’ve got to put him in bubble wrap and we can’t get him hurt because we’re not going to be any good. OK, fine, factor that into your evaluation. If you think this guy is good enough, that he’s going to be the savior of your franchise, he should be good enough to protect himself, make good decisions, get rid of the football, do whatever he needs to do right out of the gate.”
Florio believes the Patriots’ 1-4 start, topped off by a miserable loss to Miami on Sunday, makes it a perfect time to make the switch at QB.
“The Patriots haven’t fallen that far that it’s like throwing him to the lions by putting him out on the field. So I think it’s overdue,” he said. “We knew it was going to happen. And once you get to the point where you can confidently say that the season is a lost cause – and losing to the Tua-less and toothless Dolphins on Sunday is enough to come to the conclusion that it’s over – I think that now is the time to do it.
“Give him extended preparation for next year. Get him to the point where the game starts to slow down for next year and he can begin to move toward his ceiling, whatever that may be.”
Also in the episode:
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Tom Curran and Phil Perry react to the news that Drake Maye will start vs. Texans.
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Does the Patriots locker room believe Maye is ready?
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What does the league think of Bill Belichick right now?
