Is Drake Maye playing today? Update on rookie QB status for Patriots in Week 5

Since the beginning of the season, the decision to hand the quarterback keys to Drake Maye has been discussed. Given the significant changes made to the staff and roster, the Patriots were assumed not to have a successful year. There was a belief that, at some point down the line, Jacoby Brissett would step aside for the rookie.

Reporters and fans expected Maye to gain some real game experience early in his career, especially since he will be their starting quarterback full-time as soon as next season.

The discussion has been hot this past week, even more so after Patriots.com writer Evan Lazar claimed the locker room was "teetering on a mutiny" over the coach's decision to keep Maye on the bench. This prompted the debate to be the focus again, with many believing the rookie will be starting sooner rather than later.

But that doesn't appear to be the case, according to the latest reporting from Patriots writers.

Don't count on seeing Drake Maye take the field against the Dolphins on Sunday

It's a constantly changing narrative surrounding how ready Maye is for the job, with last week coaches and players raving about how great he's looked at practice. Fast forward to the days leading to their matchup with the Dolphins, and others are claiming he's not as close to being ready as previously thought.

Because of that, it seems that Maye won't see the field against the Dolphins on Sunday unless in an emergency capacity. His full game debut will continue to be on hold for at least another week, which might be the best decision given how depleted the offensive line is.

Whether or not it's widely agreed that rookie quarterbacks should be protected from a weak offensive line is irrelevant. The Patriots need to avoid any potential disaster with their rookie quarterback to avoid a repeat of the Mac Jones era as much as possible.

Throwing your rookie quarterback behind an offensive line that likely won't competently protect him, leading to either injury or risking his confidence, is not how any franchise would want to start his career in the NFL.

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