FOXBORO — Quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s career has come full circle from mentee to mentor in his return to the Patriots.
And though Brissett, third overall pick Drake Maye, Bailey Zappe and sixth-round pick Joe Milton III all have aspirations of starting for the Patriots in 2024, Brissett, the veteran in the room, can make sure that competition can be collaborative, not awkward.
“I’ll just be myself. I have no ego in this to be like ‘I should do this.’ Whatever is for me is going to happen for me,” Brissett, who the Patriots drafted in the third round in 2016, said. “Whatever is going to happen for the next person is going to happen for the next person. It’s about being ready whenever your time comes. The thing that got me to that mindset was my first year here. I’m the third-string quarterback my rookie year. Take no reps in training camp or OTAs with the first team. And in Week 2, I’m in a game against the Dolphins. You never know when your opportunity is going to come, it’s just about being ready. Whatever is going to happen for me is going to happen for me.”
Brissett has started 48 games in his NFL career with the Patriots, Colts, Dolphins and Browns. Last season with the Commanders, he served as a backup/mentor for Sam Howell.
The Patriots signed Brissett with the vision that he would be a backup or bridge for their rookie quarterback. Head coach Jerod Mayo said after the draft that a starter has not yet been decided.
“When I was here the first time, you realize everybody’s your mentor that’s older than you in this league or has more experience in, and I hope I’m that for more than just Drake,” Brissett said. “And be a helping person for players on this team. When people ask that to other guys, I don’t understand the bad part. I’m a teammate first. I hope I can be a good teammate to not only him but everybody on this team.”
Brissett and Maye are the top options to start for the Patriots in 2024, but the veteran QB made sure to mention that Zappe is in the running, as well.
The 2022 fourth-round pick finished the 2023 season as the Patriots’ starter over Mac Jones. He’s 4-4 in his career as a starter and hasn’t let Brissett forget about one of those wins. Zappe and the Patriots beat Brissett’s Browns 38-15 during the 2022 season.
“It’s been a lot of fun, man. Not only does he rub that game in a lot, it’s just the competitions that we have every day,” Brissett said of Zappe. “That’s the thing about the room, though. Everybody’s talking about me, Drake and Joe, you’ve got a guy that’s started in the NFL and won games. He’s not a slouch. I think the good thing about our room is honestly everybody wants to be the guy. Everybody’s competing to be the guy. That’s what you want. I was talking to (Patriots director of communications) Aaron (Salkin) about it the other day. If none of us wanted to play, then our room would be messed up. Like we would be in bad hands in this organization. I think everybody understands that, and everybody wants to play. I know that I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to play and didn’t think I could do the job myself. I think he thinks that of himself too, and he should.”
