The New England Patriots opened up organized team activities (OTA) with four quarterbacks, rostering Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, Bailey Zappe and Joe Milton. When the Patriots enter training camp, that number could be down to three.
Jerod Mayo stated that his plan is to narrow the competition for the starting quarterback job down to three players by the start of training camp, via Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. When asked about that comment ahead of Monday's first OTA practice, the Patriots head coach didn't confirm the plan, but indicated that the team could part ways with a quarterback ahead of training camp.
“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Mayo told reporters when asked what would happen with the fourth quarterback in this scenario. “Once we get to training camp, that’s real football, so out here in the spring, we’ll rock with four. But, as soon as we get to training camp, you have to start pairing down the roster.”
The four quarterbacks were in attendance for Monday's first OTA practice, with each getting time on the field though some played with the starting unit (Brissett, Maye) while others played with the backups (Zappe, Milton). Mayo doesn't want anyone to look at the number of reps as any indication of how the team feels about those specific quarterbacks though, saying, “it's about the quality of the reps you get.”
“I would say, from a holistic standpoint, it’s just about progress,” Mayo said when asked what he wanted to see from the quarterbacks. “Today, it won’t be perfect, and I don’t expect them to be perfect, but you want to make sure you see these guys going in the right direction from an execution standpoint.”
What Jerod Mayo said about Patriots quarterbacks Drake Maye, Bailey Zappe
Entering OTAs, most eyes are on Maye. The Patriots selected him with the third overall pick in hopes that he'll become their next franchise quarterback.
Unlike Caleb Williams with the Chicago Bears, Maye hasn't been named the Patriots' starting quarterback despite being a high draft pick. In fact, most have speculated that Brissett will be the team's starting quarterback.
Mayo hasn't named a starter, but he's liked what he's seen from Maye in his first few weeks with the organization.
“I thought Drake did a great job not only progressing on the field, but also off the field,” Mayo said of Maye's performance during rookie minicamp. “You can already tell like he is going to put in that extra work. You know, I walked by the quarterback meeting room, he’s just in there by himself, watching film. Those are the things that you want to see. I am excited to see his growth going forward.”
Meanwhile, Zappe has been the least talked about quarterback of the group. He finished last season as the Patriots' starting quarterback, but most seem to think he's battling with Milton for the third quarterback spot.
Despite Zappe's perceived drop on the depth chart, Mayo dished out some praise for him on Monday.
“I think about Zap as a true professional,” Mayo said. “You know, we drafted two quarterbacks. Obviously, he is going to be competing with those guys, but at the same time, he is an open book. He is a resource. He has started games in this league, and that’s more than the other two quarterbacks can say.”
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