Drake Maye’s Patriots debut was a brief one

FOXBORO — Drake Maye made his Patriots debut on Thursday night, though it didn’t last very long. But the rookie quarterback got his feet wet at a rainy Gillette Stadium in New England’s exhibition tilt against the Carolina Panthers.

Maye took over for starter Jacoby Brissett for New England’s second series of the game, and that was all the action the rookie saw in his debut. He was 2-for-3 on his dropbacks for 19 yards, making short completions to Antonio Gibson and Kevin Harris out of the backfield. 

Head coach Jerod Mayo said that Maye seeing just one series — which came with New England’s No. 1s — was the plan all along following the team’s 17-3 win. 

“Get him in there for one series, turn it into the [Bailey] Zappe and Joe [Milton] show,” said Mayo. “He’ll have plenty of opportunity to go against the two other teams before the regular season.”

Maye was all smiles though after the game, saying it was “awesome” to finally play in the stadium in front of fans. He said that he knew that was the plan for the last few days, and admitted to feeling some nerves. But that isn’t anything unusual for a 21-year-old playing in their first NFL game.

“If you’re not nervous for something, it doesn’t mean anything to you. I think nerves are a good thing. Once you get that first snap you settle in,” said Maye. “It felt good to get that a hit under my belt and fun to be out there with the guys.”

The Patriots picked up a first down on Maye’s only drive despite getting hit with a false start on the second play. Maye dumped it to Gibson on a third-and-12, and the back picked up enough yards to move the chains and keep the drive alive.

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Maye’s first downfield pass of the night went incomplete to Jalen Reagor, as the rookie threw it a bit too high for his receiver over the middle of the field.  The rain didn’t help, but it was a throw that Maye should have put on Reagor’s numbers and not over his head. 

The drive ended a few plays later when Gibson slipped on a second-down handoff for no gain, and Harris picked up only six yards on a third-down dump by Maye. But at least the rookie didn’t force anything on his first preseason drive.

Maye played behind New England’s top offensive line (from left to right, Vederian Lowe, Sidy Sow, David Andrews, Mike Onwenu, and Chukwuma Okorafor) for the first time this summer, as he’s been playing with the second-unit in practice. Those linemen also took a seat on the bench after the drive ended, which definitely played a part in Maye taking a seat. The Patriots’ starting line is shaky enough, and there’s even less faith in the backups right now.

Bailey Zappe took over for Maye and played the rest of the first half and into the third quarter. Sixth-round pick Joe Milton III got the end of the game, and gave the team a spark with a 38-yard touchdown.

Fans at Gillette Stadium weren’t too pleased with the third overall pick playing just one series, booing when Zappe’s name was announced and later chanting “We Want Maye!” when the Patriots had the ball. It’s understandable, given the hype surrounding Maye and his need for some game snaps. 

Maye, however, wasn’t concerned about playing just seven snaps (one of which was a penalty) on Thursday night.

“I’ve been getting a lot of reps in practice. Practice matters, and you have to make sure that translates in the game,” he said. “Trying to take all the reps I’m getting and make the most of them. I think the rest of the preseason, I’ll be out there more, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Maye remained engaged from the sideline, soaking in the experience and cheering on his teammates. He had an earpiece in too, allowing him to hear everything offensive coaches were saying to Zappe and Milton.

“It’s huge. Just listening to the play-call and repeating it back to myself, little things like that,” said Maye. “You kind of know what is coming on the sideline, and you can play the game from the sideline.”

The Patriots have joint practice against Eagles this week, so some very meaningful practice reps are coming Maye’s way this week. Still, with all that he means for the future of the Patriots franchise, it would have been nice to see more of Drake Maye in Thursday night’s preseason opener.