Count Tom Brady Among Those Who Agree With This Patriots’ Decision

Patriots legend Tom Brady knows a thing or two about being a successful quarterback in the NFL. It wasn’t shocking to hear the seven-time Super Bowl champion agree with New England’s decision to start Jacoby Brissett over rookie Drake Maye in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I think it’s best, in my opinion, for young quarterbacks, rookie quarterbacks to kind of watch a veteran do it,” Brady said on FS1’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on Tuesday. “There’s so much that goes on, and quarterbacks need to process so much information so quickly, and I think if you can have someone… I sat behind Drew Bledsoe my first year; what a great player he was, someone I got to watch and learn from.”

Brady added that Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes both learned from veteran signal-callers Brett Farve and Alex Smith, respectively, which only helps young quarterbacks with the learning curve of playing in the NFL instead of being out on the field and possibly losing confidence in their abilities.

“Ultimately, those young players are going to get opportunities,” Brady said. “The franchises need those young quarterbacks to come in and take a big step and lead that franchise into the future. I just like to give them a little bit of time to acclimate themself to the pro game and the pro schedule. It’s a big difference between college football and professional football.”

Bledsoe played 194 NFL games during his 14-year career for the Patriots, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys, with an overall record of 98-95. He completed 3,839 passes for 44,611 yards and tossed 251 touchdowns. Bledsoe also had 24 fourth quarter comebacks and 31 game-winning drives. On the other hand, Brissett has an 18-30 record across 79 games with New England, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins and Washington Commanders in his eight years in the NFL. He threw 51 touchdowns and had 10,574 yards with four comebacks and five winning drives.

Maybe Bledsoe was the right veteran for Brady to watch and learn from, but it remains to be seen whether or not Brissett can do the same for Maye. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo is confident Brissett will be a mentor for Maye and the entire offensive side of the ball.