Patriots ‘Loosening Restrictions’ On Drake Maye Entering Preseason?

Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will play in New England’s preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday.

Jerod Mayo confirmed as much Tuesday, but given what we’ve seen on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium in recent days, it was never really a doubt.

Maye has firmly been entrenched with the second-string offense, repping behind Jacoby Brissett throughout each of the first two weeks of training camp. New England has eased him into the processing part of the game, seemingly scripting each of his turns during competitive team periods to include quick decisions and multiple check-down options.

The Patriots opened it up on Monday, though.

Keagan Stiefel joined George Balekji and Natalie Noury on NESN’s “Boston Has Entered The Chat” podcast on Tuesday, discussing the changes that were made down in Foxboro, Mass.

“I noticed we’re starting to see a little bit more of that special player that he is, that made him the No. 3 pick,” Stiefel said. “You saw his athleticism (Monday). He took the ball and ran with it. Is that because he had to, because the offensive line couldn’t hold their blocks? Yes, probably, but you could still see these are the decisions that are going to play in real game situations.”

Maye had primarily been working with underneath passing patterns early, but on Monday took a pair of deep shots that caught the attention of those in attendance.

“He was also able to air it out a bit,” Stiefel said. “I think they’ve kept restraints on him during practice in the early portion of camp, but today you saw him air it out… I think they’re loosening the restrictions on him recently, which is really all you want to see out of a guy that you know isn’t going to start early in the season, and maybe not even at the midway point of the season. But you want to see them gradually move him along, and they’re doing that.”

You can listen to the full episode of NESN’s “Boston Has Entered The Chat” podcast on YouTube and Spotify.