Jacoby Brissett will remain Patriots' starting QB despite non-committal answer Thursday

The Patriots are not ready to make a change at quarterback yet.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo reiterated that Jacoby Brissett will remain the starting quarterback ahead of a matchup with the 49ers next Sunday.

“Jacoby is still our starting quarterback until I say he’s not,” Mayo told the media on a video conference call Friday morning.

Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt reiterated in his own video conference call that Brissett “is our starter, like Coach said.”

Rookie Drake Maye replaced Brissett with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s 24-3 loss to the Jets.

After the game, Mayo was non-committal about whether he would consider a coaching change.

“I don’t know. We talk about it every single week, you’re competing for a job. So, we’ll get together as a coaching staff and see how it goes,” Mayo said on Thursday night.

Brissett is 1-2 this season as a starter and has completed 60.9% of his passes for just 368 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers this season. He’s also added nine rushes for 38 yards with a league-leading nine sacks. Maye was 4-of-8 for 22 yards in relief Thursday night. He also added two carries for 12 yards with two sacks.

The offensive line is making it nearly impossible to play quarterback in the Patriots’ offense. Brissett has faced the highest pressure rate (46.4%) in the NFL so far this season, per PFF. His pressure-to-sack rate is also rising after Thursday night’s game. He now ranks 13th-highest of 32 qualified QBs in that metric.

The Patriots must consider the future when deciding how to handle their quarterback situation. Maye will benefit from taking snaps this season, but the Patriots also don’t want him to get injured behind their offensive line.

Van Pelt believes that Maye will currently benefit more from watching Brissett.

_____