Patriots pick Jacoby Brissett as starting QB over Drake Maye - ESPN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo has chosen Jacoby Brissett as the team's starting quarterback as the veteran held off a late surge from rookie Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft.

«We have decided, or I have decided, that Jacoby Brissett will be our starting quarterback this season,» Mayo said Thursday. «In saying that, as an organization, we are 100% behind Jacoby. There is no 'You got a guy right here, you got a guy right there.' We're 100% behind Jacoby.»

Brissett spent all spring and training camp as the starter, but the dynamic of the competition shifted over the past two weeks. Mayo previously said that once Maye became less deferential, the gap between the quarterbacks closed to the point where Maye was playing better than Brissett in that time frame.

At the same time, Brissett's experience in the team's system, along with the totality of his work going back to the spring, was weighed in the decision-making process.

Asked if the decision means that Maye would sit for an extended period of time, Mayo said: «I don't want to get into hypotheticals. We can't go into the season saying, 'He's going to go X amount of weeks.' As long as Jacoby is going out there performing the way we all have confidence in him doing, he'll be our quarterback this season.»

Mayo said he spoke with both quarterbacks individually and as a group.

«I feel like we're all on the same page from an organizational perspective,» Mayo said. «There were a lot of factors that led to this choice. I think the hard part is thinking in the short term and the long term at the same time. As an organization, though, we feel like Jacoby gives us the best chance to win right now.»

Mayo previously said that the final decision