Jacoby Brissett to start, but Drake Maye expected to play in Patriots preseason opener
FOXBORO -- Patriots fans will see both Jacoby Brissett and Drake Maye in action in Thursday night's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers. They'll also see Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton III when New England kicks off its preseason slate, as head coach Jerod Mayo plans to play all four quarterbacks on the depth chart.
"As of today, that is the plan -- to have all four of those guys out there," Mayo said ahead of Tuesday's practice, the 11th of New England's training camp.
Brisett is slotted in as the team's starting quarterback for Thursday night, but the rookie Maye will also get his first taste of NFL action. There had been some speculation that New England could sit Maye given the current state of the offensive line, but that will not be the case.
"Drake will play. When he gets in the game we'll talk about that," said Mayo. "Everyone who is healthy to play in the game will play in the game. That's more than you've ever gotten before."
Mayo's got that right, as he isn't afraid to dish out a lot more info than Bill Belichick ever did. But when asked how much Maye would play, Mayo shut it down.
"Not sure. Now you're going too far," Mayo joked with ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss.
Brissett and Maye will likely get a few series each against Carolina, depending on how successful they are during their time on the field. Then they'll make way to Zappe and Milton, who are battling it out for the No.3 QB spot on the roster.
While the team has a good idea what they're working with in the quarterback room, Mayo wants to see everyone in a game setting on Thursday night.
"It goes back to competing. Like you saw yesterday with all the live tackling and other things that I think are very important. You don't want the first time these guys get hit or hit someone else to be in the preseason game," said Mayo. "We have to see what these guys can do in live action."
Tune in to Thursday night's Patriots-Panthers preseason opener on WBZ-TV -- the television home of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage kicks off at 6:30 pm with a special edition of Patriots GameDay, followed by Patriots-Panthers at 7 pm, and we'll wrap things up with Patriots 5th Quarter after the game!
