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Drake Maye should see the field more in his second preseason appearance for the New England Patriots.
According to Albert Breer of The MMQB, Maye is set to play the entire second quarter and “into the third” of New England’s matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night. Veteran Jacoby Brissett will be under center in the first quarter, fellow rookie quarterback Joe Milton will take over after Maye, and Bailey Zappe will finish up the fourth quarter.
The No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft was only on the field for one drive during his preseason debut against the Carolina Panthers.
Maye completed two of his three pass attempts for 19 yards, while New England eventually emerged with a 17-3 win.
The former North Carolina standout wasn’t pulled from the game for performance-based reasons, as Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo confirmed that Maye playing one drive was “always” part of the plan (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
Mayo was also impressed with the 21-year-old staying engaged with the rest of the team’s offense, even when he wasn’t on the field.
“I would also say when he wasn’t in the game, he was still listening to the call, still taking those mental reps, which are very important,” Mayo told reporters on Tuesday, per the team’s official website. “I always talk to all the players, if you’re not in there, you should be getting mental reps and going through the checks in your head. He definitely did that.”
While Brissett will continue to start, Maye should have a larger opportunity to showcase his ability to run the team’s offense and potentially challenge for the top spot on New England’s depth chart.
The Eagles likely won’t have their No. 1 defense in the game by the time Maye heads onto the field, although they still boast one of the league’s deepest defensive line units and could provide a challenge for the rookie signal-caller.
Kickoff on Thursday is at 7 p.m. ET.
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