Tom Brady makes case for Drake Maye to serve as Patriots backup QB

Drake Maye could very soon be the New England Patriots’ answer under center following Tom Brady‘s departure after the 2019 season but for now, he will play the role of backup quarterback.

Patriots first-year head coach Jerod Mayo announced last Thursday that Jacoby Brissett will be QB1 for this Sunday’s Week 1 road contest against the Cincinnati Bengals. Maye, for now, is second on the depth chart, and Brady believes that’s the correct move from New England. Speaking on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” Tuesday, Brady said it’s best for rookie signal callers to sit behind a veteran and learn the ropes before being thrown into the fire.

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.@TomBrady on if he would start Drake Maye:

"I think it's best for rookie quarterbacks to watch a veteran do it." pic.twitter.com/uzcTDGpwqc

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 3, 2024

“I’ve gone on record to say that I think that it’s best in my opinion for young quarterbacks, or rookie quarterbacks to kind of watch a veteran do it,” Brady said. “There’s so much that goes on. And quarterbacks need to process so much information so quickly. And I think if you can have someone — I sat behind Drew Bledsoe my first year. What a great player he was. Someone that I got to watch and learn from. Aaron Rodgers watched, behind Brett Favre. Patrick Mahomes watched behind Alex Smith.

“So, when you have a real pro in front of you, they can help with that learning curve. Even though that young quarterback isn’t necessarily going out there and losing confidence what his abilities are. Ultimately those young quarterbacks are going to get opportunities. The franchises need those young quarterbacks to come in and take a big step and lead that franchise on into the future. I just like to give them a little bit of time to acclimate themselves to the pro game, the pro schedule. It’s a big difference between college football and professional football.”

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Drake Maye reacts to Patriots naming Jacoby Brissett QB1

Brady knows as well as anybody how important it is to sit and learn behind a veteran quarterback. As he mentioned, he did exactly that in New England, serving as Bledsoe’s backup in 2001. Brady got his shot in Week 2 of that season and seven Super Bowls later, it’s safe to say it worked out well for him.

The Patriots, of course, would likely be content with Maye having a career that’s even less than half of what Brady accomplished. We’ll find that out in the future but for now, it’s Brissett’s team.

“There’s two ways to look at it. Obviously, I want to play, the competitive edge in me. At the same time, I understand the situation. Jacoby has been in the offense and got reps with the 1s all camp,” Maye said last week, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “I feel like I left it all out there. No regrets coming back.”