Jacoby Brissett is ready for a quarterback competition with Drake Maye

BOSTON -- When the Patriots signed Jacoby Brissett in free agency, just about everybody understood the reasoning. As a veteran quarterback who's been a starter and a backup throughout his eight-year NFL career, Brissett was the perfect option for a team that planned to select a quarterback with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft. If the rookie needs some time or even a full season to adapt to the NFL level, then Brissett would be capable of playing the position at a representative level as needed. 

And while Brissett intends to continue to be the excellent teammate and mentor that he's been on his journey through five NFL franchises, the 31-year-old is not looking to simply fade into the background now that Drake Maye has been drafted by the Patriots.

"That's all out of my control, so I don't really worry about that," Brissett said when asked about the divvying up playing time at the quarterback position while speaking at a Patriots community event in Rhode Island on Wednesday. "I'm excited to have him on the team and the other guys as well that we drafted and picked up. I think it's gonna be good. Competition brings out the best in all of us, so I'm excited about that part."

When asked if he's ready to take part in a competition at quarterback, he left no mistake about his answer.

"Of course. I wouldn't have come if I didn't," he said.

As for his specific role on the team, Brissett said that is never something that's set in stone ahead of time.

"I mean, those things evolve every day as far as how you go out there and conduct your business," Brissett said. "I think my role will become what it is when it happens."

Brissett had met Maye before the two were Patriots, with Sam Howell -- Brissett's former teammate in Washington -- playing at UNC with Maye. 

"I know him a little bit through Sam and have been around him a couple of times. So I'm a little bit familiar with him," Brissett said. "And obviously talking to each other now that we're on the same team. So I'm sure that relationship will grow."

While the outside world will largely focus on the ways that Brissett can guide the 21-year-old Maye into his first year in the NFL, Brissett said that his brand of leadership is not just focused on one player.

"Those things just happen, because it's not just for one specific player. It's for the whole team," Brissett said. "I'm seeking mentorship as well. So it's an ongoing process, it's just being a good teammate. I think that's where it starts. And then everything else kind of plays off of that."

He also doesn't feel pressured to go out of his way to assert himself in the quarterbacks room or the locker room.

"Just be myself. I think being myself has gotten me to this point in my career, so I think it'll take care of this," he said.

Brissett was in East Providence on Wednesday, as part of the New England Patriots Foundation and Bob's Discount Furniture's joint effort to furnish three apartment units at an affordable housing development for young adults who have aged out of foster care. After bouncing from New England (2016) to Indianapolis (2017-20) to Miami (2021) to Cleveland (2022) to Washington (2023) and back to New England, Brissett joked that he's very well-suited to take part in such an event and assist his teammates to be as helpful as they can be.

"This is about my sixth time moving now, sixth or seventh time moving. So I'm used to it," Brissett said. "Had to teach [Patriots teammates] a couple things about where things go."

The Patriots are coming off an abysmal offensive season, one in which they ranked 31st in points and 30th in yards. With Bill Belichick gone and Jerod Mayo taking over, the team has undergone a massive offensive overhaul, and that has continued through the draft, with the team selecting seven offensive players with its eight picks last weekend.

Maye was the biggest name of those seven offensive players, but Brissett may be the most likely candidate to be under center in Week 1. For now, Brissett is riding optimism into the buildup to the season.

"It's been good. It's been definitely different than when I was here last time. Neither good nor bad, but it's definitely been different. You can see the excitement from the guys and from him and the coaching staff so I'm excited for us to keep progressing with this," Brissett said. "I'm excited. I think we had a good draft. I think we got a lot of good players. And I'm just excited to see how this goes."