Jacoby Brissett shares early impression of rookie Drake Maye

Brissett and Maye had a previous relationship before Foxboro.

Jacoby Brissett is no longer the “giddy” 23-year old in the New England Patriots quarterback room. After signing a one-year deal with the team this offseason, he returns to Foxboro with 46 starts for four different organizations under his belt — now making him the veteran in the room.

With that comes new duties that extend off the football field, as Brissett is viewed as a strong mentor to help his teammates — specifically No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye.

“When I was here the first time, you realize everybody is your mentor that’s older than you in this league or has more experience. And I hope I’m that for more than just Drake,” Brissett said Thursday. “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.”

The two already had a previous relationship through fellow quarterback Sam Howell, who played with Brissett with the Commanders and Maye at North Carolina. They’ve spent time together playing golf in the past, and now have taken the practice field together in Foxboro as their professional career paths crossed last month.

“He has a lot of talent. He can make all of the throws. He wants to learn football, and he wants to get better,” Brissett said of Maye. “That’s what you want not only in your quarterback but anybody on the team. I’m excited to work with him. He’s 21. I was 22 or 23, but I remember that when I was following Tom [Brady] around anywhere I can learn. He’s already texting me about plays and how do I think about this and cadence and stuff like that. Just all of the little nuances of being in this position at this level.”

While Maye is no doubt the future of the franchise, Brissett will not be backing down this offseason when it comes to competing for the starting quarterback job. That will also include beating out Bailey Zappe and fellow rookie Joe Milton, who round out a competitive quarterback room.

“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. [Zappe’s] not a slouch,” Brissett said. “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.

“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 [Zappe] thinks that of himself too, and he should.”

New England has seen first-hand the past few seasons how competition doesn’t always lead to a great environment in a QB room, but Brissett, however, is not worried about the current group following a similar path.

“I’ll just be myself. I have no ego in this to be like ‘I feel like I should do this or this.’ Whatever is for me is going to happen for me. 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,” Brissett said.

“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.”