The New England Patriots may have drafted Drake Maye with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft but they are going to start his rookie season with someone more experienced under center. Although the North Carolina product has looked promising so far, Jacoby Brissett, a 31-year-old in his second stint with New England, has been named the starter.

New head coach Jerod Mayo has told his players that the Patriots will roll with Brissett starting and Maye backing him up, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. For the time being, Maye will develop behind the scenes and step in for Brissett if needed.

“We talked to Jacoby Brissett in August and he was very clear that he believes he is the starter,” Rapaport said. “He believes he's the right man not just to mentor Drake Maye and the other young quarterbacks but to be the starter of this team.”

Patriots name Jacoby Brissett starting quarterback to begin 2024 season

Brissett has served as a starting quarterback a few times in his eight-year NFL career. He started the bulk of the 2017 and 2019 seasons for the Indianapolis Colts and started 11 games for the Cleveland Browns two seasons ago after Deshaun Watson got injured. Of his 79 career games, he has started in 48.

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In those three seasons, Brissett threw for 13, 18 and 12 touchdowns, respectively, while limiting his interceptions to no more than seven. His last season as a starter saw him complete 64 percent of his passes, though he threw for just 163.0 yards per game. In his two seasons with Indy, he threw for well over 190 yards per contest.

Overall, Brissett's track record shows that he's a capable QB that has improved over the years. The Patriots' supporting cast on offense is not going to be conducive to success — the running back tandem of Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson is pretty solid but its group of wide receivers may be the worst in the league — so having Brissett navigate it for now makes more sense than throwing Maye into a bad situation right out of the gate.

Starting Brissett also gives the Patriots the chance to flip him at the trade deadline to a team in need of a quarterback. If he performs well enough, the front office can get some draft picks for him before letting Maye ride out the rest of the season. Even if Maye is ready now, taking it slowly isn’t a bad thing to have at this time.

The Patriots have officially announced Brissett being the starter at the outset of the 2024 season. They will begin their season with a road matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.