Jerod Mayo's recent comments get Patriots fans in an uproar about Drake Maye

The Patriots' decision to declare Jacoby Brissett the team's starting quarterback for the 2024 season was met with a variety of reactions, from complete agreement and understanding to confusion and frustration regarding keeping rookie Drake Maye on the bench after his impressive preseason.

It has remained a topic of conversation since Jerod Mayo made the announcement last week and continues to be debated online and in the media daily. It will likely stay that way until Maye is eventually put into a game, whether due to Brissett stinking up the field or the Patriots' plan all along was to get him reps at some point during the season, which is the current rumor.

But when that might be is still up in the air, and Mayo's recent comments when speaking to the media on Wednesday certainly didn't help his case regarding his decision to go with Brissett.

Many former players have vouched for rookie quarterbacks sitting behind a veteran for their first season, with even Tom Brady advocating for it when discussing the 2024 class. There are a lot of benefits for a young signal caller to learn the NFL from the bench and working with the starting quarterback, something that Brady knows firsthand.

There are plenty of examples of how well it has worked in the past, which is why Mayo's statement is causing an uproar among fans. It seems to contradict his decision.

Jerod Mayo's comments about the development of players has Patriots fans even more upset about Drake Maye

When asked about the task of developing young players, which includes Maye, Mayo responded with a phrase he has repeated since becoming the Patriots head coach earlier this offseason, "You get better at football by playing football."

It was immediately met with a lot of pushback from fans online because he decided to keep Maye on the bench, yet based on Mayo's logic, the quarterback can only get better if he is playing the game, which he can't do from the sideline.

As a generalized statement, the head coach isn't wrong, and it certainly holds weight for players to become better by gaining experience from playing the game. Although that doesn't appear to be the immediate plan for the rookie quarterback, Mayo has said that Maye will get reps with starters at practice this season, so it seems clear they still have a plan to give him more opportunities than many in his position would typically have.

That might not be real game experience, but playing with the starting offense and against the starting defense in practice is better than only working with the second team.

We'll have to see how exactly that works out and how much time they really dedicate to Maye with the starters leading up to the next game, but hopefully, they stick to their word and let him continue to develop in the best way possible.

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