Drake Maye made his unofficial debut with the New England Patriots but it didn't last as long as many would've liked. The rookie quarterback played just one series in the Patriots' 17-3 win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday. He only had three dropbacks, completing two of his three passes for 19 yards. However, one of his completions was a designed screen, which went for a first down, while the other was a swing pass to running back Kevin Harris.
Maye's night ended on that third-down swing pass to Harris, picking up just one first down in his only action of the night. Prior to Maye, starter Jacoby Brissett only played the opening series for the Patriots' drive. After Maye's night ended, Bailey Zappe played through the end of the first half and the first two drives of the second half before Joe Milton played the remainder of the game.
Mayo's decision to give the third- and fourth-string quarterbacks the majority of the playing time in Thursday's opener left many perplexed. But he indicated that he only wanted to see Brissett and Maye operate with the first-string offense against the Panthers.
“We wanted to see Jacoby obviously go out there and operate as well as Drake, mixing them in there with the ones,” Mayo said. “The rest of those guys, like Zappe and Joe, they went out there and finished up the game. Thought they did a good job. But that was kind of the thinking. Next week we have the Eagles. So we’ll practice against them and, who knows, the reps will probably change a little bit and we’ll see what happens in the game. But that was the thought process.”
Outside of Brissett and Maye, the majority of the Patriots' offensive starters played just two drives on Thursday. So, Brissett and Maye each got a drive working behind the Patriots' starting offensive line.
Mayo admitted that he wanted Maye to get the best protection possible on Thursday night.
“That’s always a consideration,” Mayo said when asked if there were any reservations about Maye playing behind the second-string offensive line. “If he’s in there, you want him in there with the starting offensive line. We’ve got to protect our guy. Not saying we don’t have to protect the other guys, but absolutely they’re going to.”
It rained for a good portion of Thursday's game, making the conditions for a rookie quarterback's first game less than ideal. But Mayo reiterated that the plan was to always play Maye only one drive.
“The plan was to get him in there for one series, to get Jacoby in there for one series, and then really turn it into the Zappe show and then the Joe show,” Mayo said. “That was the plan going in.”
What Jerod Mayo said of Patriots QB Drake Maye's playing time moving forward
With the first preseason game in the books, the Patriots' attention moves to the Philadelphia Eagles. They host the Super Bowl contenders for a joint practice next week before taking them on in a preseason game on Thursday.
As Mayo played Maye behind the first-string offensive line in the preseason opener, it might be easy to deduct that his snaps going forward will only be with the starting unit. Mayo didn't tip his hand though on the team's plans with Maye in practice after Thursday's game.
“The reps, that’s something to talk to [Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt] about,” Mayo said. “At the same time, I would say this is a huge week for us against Philly. We’ll see what happens in practice and then also in the game. But he’s ready to go. When he’s ready to go, we’ll put him there.”
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