New England Patriots starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s 20-10 loss to the Washington Commanders that coach Jerrod Mayo said could have continued if he had played longer.
“I talked to him, but we’ll see [Monday]. You always feel a little more sore the next day,” Mayo said. “But he said he was fine.”
In the sixth offensive game, Washington’s K.J. Brissett grimaced after being sacked by Henry, the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Henry blocking a fumble and the full force of his body landing on Brissett’s right shoulder. . When Brisette got to his feet, he brought his left arm across his chest to grasp the front of his shoulder.
He stayed in the game, connecting on a 6-yard pass on the following play to wide receiver K.J. Delivered an accurate deep throw to Osborne that was dropped.
Brissett was then pulled from the game, which Mayo said was a premeditated plan so freshman Drake Maye could play late in the second quarter.
“He could have kept going,” Mayo said of Brissett, who spent the rest of the night on the sideline.
Replacing Brissett, Maye finished 13-of-20 for 126 yards and a touchdown, which came on his first drive. Maye’s 17th was a key play to set up the team’s lone touchdown.
If Brissett’s injury becomes more significant, Mayo and his coaching staff will assess whether Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in the draft, is comfortable turning things around. Mayo won’t do that after Sunday’s game, saying he needs to review the film.
“I want to sit here and say 100 percent, he’s the second-best quarterback on our roster right now,” Mayo said.
Complicating that possibility is the surrounding offensive cast, especially in the lineup. The Patriots’ top offensive line (minus center David Andrews) was called for eight penalties Sunday, including a bad shotgun snap, another center-quarterback exchange and a blocking error on the play that got Brissett sacked. Four of the eight penalties were for misalignment — three against left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor and three against right tackle Mike Onwenu.
In addition to Brissett and Maye, the Patriots have rookie Joe Milton III and third-year veteran Bailey Chappe on the quarterback depth chart heading into Tuesday’s deadline.
Since the start of training camp, Mayo has consistently maintained that Brissett is the starter, and that Mayo has a chance to win the job if he “lights it up.”
Asked if he thinks he’ll be ready if called up for the season opener, Maye said: “Yeah, I think I’ll be ready. I think I’ll be ready for whatever this football team asks of me, and try to go out there and help the Bengals win Week 1.”
