Growing up as a New York Jets fan, I had to cope with the reality that Tom Brady owned my team and the AFC East at large for decades.

So you’ll forgive me if I indulge in a little schadenfreude over the fact that it’s Aug. 17, and the New England Patriots can’t say who will be their starting quarterback for the regular-season opener at Cincinnati in three weeks.

It’s a whole new era in Foxborough. 

The Patriots are not only five years removed from Brady’s final snap as their quarterback but now march on without Bill Belichick pulling all the strings. Jerod Mayo got to start fresh after the Patriots shipped away former first-round pick Mac Jones.

Mayo made the safe decision to open camp, saying that Jacoby Brissett was their starting quarterback because he was the most “pro-ready” guy in the room. Drake Maye, the third overall draft pick, is slowly starting to overtake him. On Friday, after the Pats’ second preseason game, Mayo said the competition “definitely isn’t over.”

Is New England going to wait for Week 7 or 9 to hand the rookie the reins? The two guys taken in front of Maye, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, are the no-doubt starters for Chicago and Washington. Maye should join them and start Week 1.

It isn’t the most awkward quarterback circumstance in the NFL this year; the Atlanta Falcons did that to themselves by paying Kirk Cousins truckloads of money, then ticking him off by picking Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall. But Brissett signed a one-year, $8 million deal to return to the team that drafted him in 2016, and he’s standing in the way of the Patriots getting a head start on their future.

I’ve always been a quiet fan of Brissett. The dude has been thrust into some odd situations before, namely in 2019, when Andrew Luck retired weeks before the season and Brissett did a fine job as the Indianapolis Colts’ unexpected starter all year. Then there was 2022, when he led the Cleveland Browns for 11 games before Deshaun Watson finished out his suspension. 

Brissett’s now 31 going on 32, and if preseason results mean anything to you, he hasn’t lit the world on fire. One three-and-out in the opener before Maye entered the game. Seventeen yards and an end zone interception against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday.

Maye has shown steady improvement, in Mayo’s eyes, with a rushing touchdown to go with 6-of-11 passing in limited action Thursday.

“Some of the things that happened the last couple of weeks was just stepping up into pressure. I thought he did a better job overall with using his legs and really extending plays,” Mayo said.

“… He needs to be faster, get the guys in and out of the huddle faster, get to the line, and just be on point. That is something for him to work on, and he is. We have three more days of camp, and that is going to be my emphasis for him.”

Sounds like a guy who plans to wait until the last possible minute to reveal his call for Week 1. Belichick would be proud!

The Patriots—and again, as a Jets guy, I take immense delight in saying this—aren’t going to be competitive this season, regardless of the QB decision. They just traded away malcontent pass rusher Matthew Judon. The roster isn’t one Brandon Aiyuk away from beating the Bills, Dolphins and Jets for the AFC East, and they moved on from courting Aiyuk after one trade offer to the 49ers didn’t work out. So get Maye under center, get him game reps as quickly as possible, and start setting up your future.

Or Mayo could always get his old teammate Brady on the phone. Sounds like he thinks he could still sling the pigskin around.