Dysfunction continues to plague Patriots season amid mutiny rumors
As the Patriots prepared for their upcoming matchup with the Texans in Week 6, the team made a surprising yet not totally unexpected announcement naming rookie quarterback Drake Maye the starter moving forward.
After winning just one game in September and losing their first outing against the Dolphins, Jerod Mayo and Co. felt it was time to bench Jacoby Brissett and give Maye the chance many believed he earned throughout the offseason.
While it has been widely approved, given how poorly the team has performed so far, it has also been criticized due to the timing of the announcement and the toughness of their next opponent. The Texans have one of the best defensive lines in the league, shutting down every quarterback they have faced so far this year, which seems like a disaster in waiting for a rookie to deal with.
But then there's the decision to announce the change on Tuesday instead of waiting for the Texans to find out who they'll be facing until Sunday morning, forcing them to prepare as if they were going to go against Brissett instead.
That has garnered a lot of attention, including from former Patriots players, but that's not the only controversy to come from the announcement, making it just the latest hint of dysfunction during what was expected to be an improved year behind the scenes.
The Patriots are having a hard time keeping things in-house under the new regime
Rumors began to fly about the Patriots' announcement of making Maye the starting quarterback for the upcoming game in Week 6, with some stating players were finding out in real-time rather than being told before the media.
It was one of the main questions asked of Mayo when he spoke to reporters on Wednesday morning, which revealed an unfortunate reality that the team is facing.
The head coach openly expressed his disappointment that the quarterback decision was leaked to reporters before they could speak to the team about it. They had an off day on Tuesday, seemingly explaining why they hadn't met with the roster yet, so the leak doesn't make the team look so good amidst a chaotic start.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo says he was a little bit disappointed that the news that Drake Maye was starting was leaked before he could speak to the team.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) October 9, 2024
The only good part about the leak is that Mayo was fortunate to speak with Brissett and Maye about the situation and let them know the decision was made before the leak, as he revealed the quarterbacks were told on Monday night.
No matter what, though, it's not a great look for the organization that there is someone leaking information to the media before they want it to be made public. This wasn't an issue during Bill Belichick's tenure, so it's certainly something that can be avoided.
It would be good for them to try to figure out who might be providing reporters with the information and nip that in the bud as soon as possible.
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