Drake Maye was replaced early in his preseason debut and Patriots fans were not happy
One of the top quarterback prospects from the 2024 NFL draft, Drake Maye, made his NFL preseason debut on Thursday night with the New England Patriots hosting the Carolina Panthers.
But it was a short-lived debut.
Maye came off the bench to backup veteran Jacoby Brissett in the game and only played on one drive, completing two of his three passes for 19 yards. Maye posted a rating of 84 while leading the Patriots to a first down on the drive.
He was eventually replaced by Bailey Zappe who is fighting for a roster spot this season. And when Zappe came in for Maye, the Patriots’ fans in attendance did not like it. Watch as Patriots fans booed when Zappe got into the game on Thursday night.
Bailey Zappe replaces Drake Maye and enters the game to a loud flurry of “Boo’s” 😳pic.twitter.com/CgxtgrNHNk
— Carlos Talks Pats (@LosTalksPats) August 8, 2024
It’s nothing against Zappe as the crowd clearly wanted to see the No. 3 overall pick in action for more than a series. There were poor conditions at Gilette Stadium with rain pouring down for most of the game, which may have played a factor into this all.
Here’s how NFL.com broke down Drake Maye’s debut:
In the small sample size, Maye showed promise. He looked poised and offered a look at the strong arm that made him a first-round pick.
Maye saw his first NFL action of any kind with 11:11 left in the first quarter, trotting out to applause from the home faithful.
On the ensuing drive, Bailey Zappe relieved Maye, much to the chagrin of the home fans.
There wasn’t much to analyze, but Maye saw his first action, showed a few gleans of promise and is on to the next. Plain and simple, it was a gloomy and cloudy day in which he wasn’t put in the greatest situation to shine, but he’ll have ample opportunities ahead to do that.
However, the fans in attendance certainly wanted to see Maye perform a little more. At least they got to see a Patriots 17-3 win in preseason which may help ease the disappointment a little bit?
Will Drake Maye win the starting job?
Drake Maye has been battling the veteran Brissett in training camp for the starting job all offseason. But Thursday was the first chance head coach Jerod Mayo got to see his quarterbacks take live game reps against another defense.
The two only threw a combined six passes with Brissett failing to complete one. Meanwhile, Zappe threw for 108 yards and Joe Milton had 54 yards and a touchdown in his playing time.
Earlier this week, leading into the game Mayo discussed Maye and the competition:
“I would say all the rookies are battling through things,” Mayo said. “It’s a different scheme. It’s a different state. There’s just so much change for these guys. But what you want to see as those guys go through adversity, you want to see them handle it the right way. You don’t want to see the explosions on the sideline. You don’t want to see any of that. It’s all about the next page and turning the page, and that’s what I appreciate.”
It’s still early on in the offseason and this battle will continue until Week 1, so there’s plenty of time for Drake Maye to compete. But even if he doesn’t win the job, it’s likely he will get a chance to be a starter at some point in his rookie season.
