It took until the week of the final preseason game, but Jerod Mayo, Alex Van Pelt and the Patriots have a QB controversy on their hands sooner than many expected.

Drake Maye didn’t put up any earth-shattering numbers during the preseason game against Philly on Thursday night, but the flashes of what could be are impossible to ignore.

There was the deep ball to Javon Baker that should have been caught. There was the slant to Baker for 12 yards on third down. There was the touchdown run. There was a command of the huddle.

It might have been against Eagles’ backups, but Drake Maye can play in this league.

Add his performance on top of the downright putrid showing that Jacoby Brissett put forth during his three drives on Thursday and suddenly, the question needs to be asked: what’s the point of sitting Maye?

The end game isn’t going to be a Super Bowl for the 2024 Patriots. So, if you’re going to be mediocre at best with Brissett, why not throw the kid into the pool and have him swim starting Week 1 against the Bengals? Now, to be fair, there’s still a lot for Maye to learn and experience before he’s truly ‘ready’ to be a 10 year starter in this league, but after finally seeing what he can do with the top offensive line in front of him and with ample opportunities, it’s more than reasonable for fans to wonder why he hasn’t gotten a bigger opportunity during camp.

The easy answer is that the staff was absolutely terrified after the Mac Jones debacle and they’ve wanted to take it slow with him. Completely understandable to an extent, but, when expectations aren’t high, you’re better off letting the kid learn on the fly.

In his day-after-a-game Zoom call with the media on Friday morning, Mayo was asked if he believes there’s a legitimate QB competition right now.

“I do. We have three more days of training camp practices, and it’s our job as coaches to evaluate. The competition isn’t over,” he said. “They’re still going to go out there, and they have to show not only themselves and their coaches but also their teammates. So, it’s definitely still a competition.”

So, do we believe him? Is this staff going to give Maye reps in practice this weekend with the starting unit? Will he see first team reps against the Commanders? Or, is this just lip service to appease the fan base who saw the future on Thursday night. Mayo was asked if he could see Maye getting first team reps.

“We’ll see,” he said. “We’ll have a staff meeting later on today, and that decision will be made. I do think he definitely showed improvement yesterday as a whole, and we’ll see what happens going forward.”

Mayo was also asked if there’s anything specific that’s kept AVP and Mayo from giving Maye those first team opportunities.

” Yeah, this has just been the plan that we put together, and you have to adjust those plans based on the competition, but that definitely is the development plan for Drake.”

Plans change and now, it might be time for New England to expedite this growing process for the No. 3 overall pick. The question is, are they ready to take that chance?

The fan base certainly is and in the end, Maye will be the one putting asses in seats at Gillette, not Jacoby Brissett.