Jerod Mayo hints at a major shakeup coming to the Patriots roster

There was much speculation about the Patriots' ultimate decision regarding their starting quarterback for the 2024 season, despite the coaching staff sticking with their initial response that it would be Jacoby Brissett. Because Drake Maye looked to outperform the veteran during the preseason, it prompted discussion about starting the rookie instead.

He brought life to an otherwise questionable offense and returned optimism to an otherwise projected forgettable season, but it wasn't the vision the new regime had for Week 1.

That led to Brissett being officially named the Patriots' starting quarterback, with no timetable regarding Maye's possible opportunity.

Jerod Mayo hinted that it would not happen during his rookie season, which garnered mixed reactions from analysts and fans, but given how poorly the offense looked against the Jets on Thursday night, there might be a quarterback change sooner rather than later.

With Brissett being beat up by New York defenders all night and the Patriots being blown out in all phases of the game, Maye relieved the veteran late in the fourth quarter. It was a shocking decision, even if it felt warranted, and made it one of the topics of discussion when speaking to the head coach after the game.

Jerod Mayo might have implied a quarterback change could be happening in the Patriots' near future

Although plenty of factors have hindered Brissett's performance thus far, a lot of the blame will be on his shoulders for the offense's shortcomings. He has contributed to many of the issues at hand, but the offensive line's inconsistency and downright bad play have made it difficult for the quarterback to do much of anything.

Knowing the spark that Maye could potentially bring, many are calling for him to replace Brissett as soon as Week 4, which is something reporters brought up to Mayo after the loss. And he didn't exactly say it wasn't happening.

In the big scheme of things, it seems unlikely that Maye would take over at quarterback as early as Week 4, especially when they'd be facing the 49ers. That's not exactly an ideal matchup for a rookie's first start.

It also wouldn't be ideal to have him lined up behind an offensive line that allows the highest pressure rate in the league and gets the quarterback knocked down a handful of times in a game. However, some believe that's just a welcome to the NFL, and Maye will experience hard hits eventually, so why not now?

What Mayo and the coaching staff decide will be an interesting storyline to follow leading up to the next game, which, luckily, isn't for another nine days. Putting Maye in would be quite a shift from the messaging they were giving all offseason and would bring on quite a morale change in the locker room.

More Patriots news and analysis: