How Patriots Quarterback Jacoby Brissett Reacted To Benching

The Patriots made an out-of-nowhere move this week, but it doesn’t sound like a complete shock to the locker room.

Jerod Mayo confirmed Wednesday that Drake Maye will take over as the starting quarterback instead of Jacoby Brissett. The New England head coach admitted in his news conference that he wished the news didn’t leak before he got to tell the rest of the players. However, Patriots captain Deatrich Wise Jr. offered insight into the internal reaction to the move.

“It was a tough decision the organization made,” Wise told reporters, per MassLive’s Mark Daniels. “I talked to him (Brissett) today. He’s in good spirits. He’s a good leader. He’ll take this opportunity to mentor Drake.”

Maye praised Brissett as the “ideal teammate” and also expressed optimism that he and Brissett will continue to lean on each other as they did through the first five weeks of the season.

Wise also noted the strides Maye made in practice and expressed confidence that the rookie can help get the Patriots back on track. He’ll face a tough test against the Houston Texans, but Maye was excited to prove people wrong and lead the way for a new era for New England.