The deal is done, and the New England Patriots aren’t starting Drake Maye in Week 1. That brought concern from one former NFL quarterback. However, it brought Tom Brady to the table as well. The future Hall of Famer shared how he feels about Maye not starting on a video posted on The Stephen A. Smith Show's YouTube page.

“I think it's just a tragedy that we're forcing these rookies to play early, but the reality is the only reason why we are is because we've dumbed the game down, which has allowed them to play,” Brady said. “We used to spend hours and hours in the offseason, in training camp, trying to be a little bit better the next year. But I think what happens is it discourages the coaches from going to deep levels. They realize the players don't have the opportunity to go to a deep level. So they're just going to teach them where they're at.”

Patriots QB Drake Maye said he wants to start

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) throws during the first half against the Washington Commanders at Commanders Field.
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Maye said he’s trying to stay positive and understand the decision-making process that led to Jacoby Brissett being chosen as the New England Patriots' opening-day starter, according to a post on X by ESPN reporter Mike Reiss.

“There’s two ways to look at it,” Maye said. “Obviously I want to play, the competitive edge in me. At the same time, I understand the situation. Jacoby has been in the offense and got reps with the ones all camp. I feel like I left it all out there. No regrets coming back.”

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One reason Brady said he doesn’t like rookies being cast into the fire is most don’t have the pro-style experience he got in his time at Michigan, according to cbsnews.com.

“There used to be college programs,” said Brady. “Now, there are college teams. You're no longer learning a program, you're learning a playbook.

“For five years, I got to learn how to drop back pass, to read defenses, to read coverages, to be coached. To deal with winning games, to deal with playing in Columbus, Ohio, in front of 110,000 people. I had to learn from being seventh QB on the depth chart to moving up to third to ultimately being a starter. I had to learn all those things in college, that was development.”

Of course, it's kind of silly to compare any rookie quarterback's development to that of Tom Brady. What worked for Brady may not work for others. It's kind of like the comparison's NFL observers make about Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes. Basically saying sitting a quarterback for his first NFL season always leads to a great career.