Next offseason's contract talks will be determined by how Maye plays in the next few weeks and beyond.
The New England Patriots have some decisions to make this offseason regarding Drake Maye. Before we get into that, though, it's time to look at one major decision that could shape offseason talks between the team and their quarterback come March 2027.
Expectations of Maye have shifted, whether anyone wants to publicly say it or not within the organization. You make it to a Super Bowl when nobody expected you to; now you have to prove consistency is key in how you play the game.
However, last Wednesday night's Week 1 loss proved that Maye's decision-making in a tough game can be a point of concern, and the Patriots are now left with a decision of when to let Maye abide by a conservative game plan that would aid in a potential victory without him having to be Superman and when to let him sling it all over the field and rack up some big game stats.
With a tougher schedule coming for the Patriots week after week, they may face more games like the trip to Seattle. That may suggest game plans similar to what we saw last week. A lot of runs, and maybe the callbacks to the five-yard slant routes to receivers.
Can the Patriots trust their third overall draft pick to do that?
Maye is a gunslinger of a quarterback, a young one at best. That comes with the potential for a lot of interceptions, and that was a problem in college at UNC for a bit. Maye regressed in his senior year at Chapel Hill, going from seven interceptions to nine in his final year there. The 63:16 touchdown-interception ratio isn't bad, but it was still a concern raised in his pre-draft analysis.
The premise may be that Maye isn't going to throw 30 or 40 times a game now, but rather do what needs to be done to get a win on the road and head home and risk regression like we saw in college.
That is the decision that the Patriots may need to run with even when a player like A.J. Brown is back on the field to catch deep throws downfield.
Now, to fast-forward to the potential contract extension talks looming this offseason for Maye and the Patriots. Big contracts boil down to trust between an organization and its starting quarterback. Maye is one of many QBs in the league in the pool for a contract extension going into 2027.
Some get those deals based on the ability to "ball out" in a season; others break it down to football IQ. The decision on Maye might just boil down to whether he can work within the confines of the game plan planned out for him week after week.
That may be the long road, but that's kind of what the Patriots do as an organization. They play the long game. The last thing they need right now is Maye to become what happened to Mac Jones during his stint with the team. A promising young quarterback who just couldn't adapt and panicked when things shifted on and off the field.
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