The final game of the NFL season usually sees many starters not playing for various reasons, mainly if they're a team that has already secured seeding in the playoffs. The Patriots, on the other hand, are a team in a position to avoid potential injuries by keeping players benched or hoping to maintain their coveted draft pick, so losing the game would be better for the future.
There is a lot to consider regarding the health of Drake Maye, as suffering an injury in Week 18 would be devastating for the quarterback and the team, but also remaining atop the draft board with the first overall pick.
Considering the current regime is in the hot seat, openly tanking for the draft pick is not on the table, but protecting their franchise quarterback is, whether they publicly say it or not.
It appears they might go down that route despite stating that Maye will be the starter on Sunday since backup rookie quarterback Joe Milton III took first-team reps at practice on Thursday, which he has not done at all this year.
Notable: Joe Milton took some snaps with the starting offense yesterday in practice, Van Pelt says.
— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) January 2, 2025
Milton is usually restricted to scout-team reps. https://t.co/zaC50SlWTB
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Giving Joe Milton III first-team reps seems to imply the Patriots might not have Drake Maye play the entire game
Giving Milton any time with the starting team seems to imply he will be taking the field at some point, which is significant given that Jacoby Brissett has been the backup since Week 6. The plan is to have Maye play no matter what seems in question now, especially since the coaches implied he would play the entire game.
That would back up the notion that they are competing to win the final game of the season and not actively trying to lock up the first overall pick in the draft. However, even toying with the idea of having Milton get in the game goes against that.
Regardless, the rookie was excited about the opportunity and it would be good to see what the Patriots have in Milton for the future, considering we haven't been able to see him play really at all outside of practice.
“It went well. I felt like I was in college again, basically, taking reps. It felt great just to make sure my eyes were right, make sure my footwork’s right with the concepts or the run game. It felt great. It felt awesome. Felt like a kid again, for sure.”
The best-case scenario is no matter what happens in the game, the Patriots lose. It's a difficult mindset for fans since the objective of any football game is to win. But when the future of the team depends on what could come of their draft pick, hoping for a loss becomes a little bit easier.