Conspiracy theories begin to fly about Patriots' recent praise of Drake Maye

The Patriots 2024 offseason was quite the roller coaster. It began with a trust fall by owner Robert Kraft, who decided to move on from Bill Belichick, the team's head coach and general manager for the last quarter century. He promoted Jerod Mayo to be his successor, who was then allowed to make an entirely new staff for the upcoming season.

There were a lot of changes expected to continue with the likely benching or trade of quarterback Mac Jones, which was eventually done during free agency, and a rookie was inevitably going to be taken with the third overall pick in this year's draft.

But it was also known that the new regime would sign a veteran quarterback to be the bridge player to lean on for much of the 2024 season and be the mentor for the incoming rookie.

Most analysts and fans accepted this aspect of the season, given the less-than-desirable state of the rest of the offense, especially the offensive line. Although they weren't exactly thrilled with Mayo and Co.'s decision to sign Jacoby Brissett, seeing Drake Maye have a somewhat forgettable start to his NFL career during the summer made it much easier for most to be okay with.

That was until the rookie finally got his opportunity to take the field in the preseason. It prompted calls for him to be the starter as soon as Week 1, which wasn't something Mayo and his staff were prepared to do and stuck to their word to have Brissett under center.

Because the offensive line has been a liability through the first three games, and the veteran has taken the hits like he's nearly indestructible, keeping Maye on the sideline has been more widely acknowledged as a good decision.

But since the Patriots have started the year with a 1-2 record and look like they need a spark on offense, which Maye appeared to do when put into the final four minutes of last week's game, the calls for the rookie to take over Brissett have grown over the last week.

Despite playing such a limited role in the loss to the Jets, the Patriots coaching staff has been raving about how impressive Maye has looked at practice recently, creating a surge of conspiracy theories about what this could mean beyond the surface.

The Patriots coaching staff raving about Drake Maye has some believing changes are coming as soon as Week 5

Since Maye was considered a top-3 quarterback of the 2024 draft class, it's not shocking to hear the Patriots coaches be impressed with his development and skill set. He flashed throughout training camp and preseason and impressed with his arm strength and poise despite being just 21 years old at the time.

However, the praise seems to have picked up since Mayo reportedly decided to take Brissett out of the Jets game last Thursday night and give Maye time to get a feel for a real NFL game. This has made many believe there's a hidden meaning to the coaching staff's surge of confidence that could indicate their plans for a quarterback change.

It began with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt's response to a reporter's question about how Maye has looked during practice and his impression of his development. He stated that he's "looking really good" and that the in-game experience last week was significant for his growth moving forward.

Patriots reporter Phil Perry reiterated the offensive play caller's feelings about Maye, sharing all the glowing reviews he's heard about the quarterback over the last few weeks from coaches and players alike.

All of this has created an interesting fan response (and even some members of the media) who believe this is an indirect way of the Patriots preparing for the inevitable decision to make Maye the starter as soon as their Week 5 game against a depleted Dolphins team.

Could it be a passive way the Patriots are saying what's going to happen sooner rather than later?

There was plenty to suggest Maye would get the start at some point during the season, which garnered a lot of debate about when that would be, which might be happening much earlier than most expected, given how poorly their season has gone so far.

But could this also be just the reaction to a good week of practice from the rookie and some are making it into something it's not because they want Maye to take over much sooner than he actually will?

We won't know the truth until someone on the coaching staff confirms the suspicions or Maye is named the starter next week. Regardless, the mystery is creating more intrigue in the Patriots' season than most anticipated for the predicted losing, rebuilding year.

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