Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye made his preseason debut on Thursday night against the Panthers.
It was a short one.
Maye, the third overall pick in the 2024 draft, handled one drive for the Patriots in his first game at Gillette Stadium. It covered eight plays and generated 21 yards of offense, ending with a punt from the Carolina 45. Maye completed two of three passes for 19 yards.
After the game, coach Jerod Mayo said that limited work for Maye was expected.
“That was always the plan,” Mayo said, via quotes distributed by the team. The goal was to have him play with the first-string offensive line.
“We’ve got to protect [the] guy,” Mayo said. “Not saying we don’t have to protect the other guys, but absolutely they’re going to.”
So, basically, expect Maye to play in the preseason only with the first-string offense. The question then becomes the split between Maye and starter (for now) Jacoby Brissett.
Maye was upbeat about the experience, despite not getting much work.
“I think it was awesome,” Maye said (via a transcript provided by the Team), "“First of all, to get out there in the stadium. Really the first time since I think the day after I got drafted being in the stadium, other than the walkthrough yesterday. Being there with the fans, it was a different feeling. I felt some little chills through my body, but it was just awesome getting to compete against somebody else. We’re going through camp and practice with ourselves and finally get a chance to come together and compete as one.”
Even if it was only one drive.
There will be more, and Patriots fans will surely become more and more anxious to see what the highest-drafted quarterback during the Kraft era will become for a team that had grown very accustomed to high-end quarterback play.