the Patriots defense care that Drake Maye is now the starting quarterback?

Sure, but maybe not as much as we all think.

The news came down on Tuesday afternoon, which is when many players found out through social media or group texts. Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett knew Monday night when Jerod Mayo called them. Mayo held a team meeting on Wednesday morning to officially announce it to the 53-man roster as a group.

“We didn’t really know, but we found out this morning,” Davon Godchaux said to a group of about five reporters inside the locker room. “Whatever it takes to win. Whoever they put in position, I’m sure it’ll be the correct decision for the team. Eliot (Wolf), Matt (Groh), Jerod, I’m sure they’re going to make the right decision for the team.

“Just ready to move forward and hopefully win some ballgames.”

I also caught up with Keion White to find out what he’s seen from his perspective facing both guys every day, and why he believes Maye has earned this opportunity.

“Shit, I don’t know. I feel like everybody tries to talk about things that they don’t know about. I don’t play offense, so it’s not really my job to make that decision,” White said. “I feel like a lot of people have to understand that. Like, it’s hard to know how good someone is doing if you don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing. But, everybody wants to be a critic. I don’t really fall into that trap.

“That’s that side of the ball. We have to focus on what we’re doing as a defense and continue to play…just focusing on the defensive side of the ball.”

Christian Gonzalez had a very simple answer when I asked him what he’d seen from Maye to earn this start in the red throwbacks on Sunday.

“He just came into work,” he said. “He’s been professional, so, we’ll see what he can do on Sunday.”