Drake Maye earning more reps with starters

The New England Patriots are wrapping up another week of practice in training camp ahead of their preseason opener next week. And for rookie quarterback Drake Maye, it’s been a training camp full of ups and downs.

The struggles are expected for a rookie quarterback but it hasn’t all been bad for him. Maye has flashed his talent in training camp as he’s currently battling Jacoby Brissett for the starting job with fellow rookie Joe Milton also pushing them. As training camp rolls on, Maye will get his chance to earn the job with the starters through first-team reps.

Per Kayla Burton, Maye will have more of an opportunity to practice with the first-team offense. Head coach Jerod Mayo wants to mix and match the quarterbacks with the starting unit.

Since the start of camp, #Patriots QB Jacoby Brissett has been taking all the 1s reps.

Today, Jerod Mayo clarified Drake Maye will have an opportunity to practice with the 1s …

“we’re gonna mix and match.”

— Kayla Burton (@Kay_Breezy22) August 1, 2024

After Maye had some struggles earlier in the week with rough practices, he’s bounded back with two good practices in a row. On Friday, Maye was sharp in drills as Khari Thompson of Boston.com wrote:

The rookie quarterback thrived on short throws, hitting LaMichael Pettway and Kayshon Boutte for touchdowns during the red zone 7-on-7 period. He also had completions to Demario Douglas, and Ja’Lynn Polk among others during the practice.

Maye has shown flashes of his arm strength during 1-on-1s and team drills this summer, but says there’s still more to accomplish as far as deep throws. He said that he had a shot at one on Friday, but recognized that the defense dropped back into a cover 2, and throwing into that might not have been the best decision.

With the preseason looming, that might be Maye’s best chance to impress Mayo and the coaching staff to win that starting job. But he needs to play well in those games.