New England Patriots helmet (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The New England Patriots dropped an interesting hint on who the early front-runner is to open the 2024 season as their starting quarterback.

After three frustrating seasons, the New England Patriots traded starter Mac Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They signed journeyman QB Jacoby Brissett to a one-year deal in free agency before using the No. 3 pick on North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye.

Many assume Brissett has a leg up on the QB competition given his experience and familiarity with the Patriots (he played there in 2016). But as you can see in the photo below, it’s Maye who’s taking snaps from starting center David Andrews:

There’s a long way to go before Week, but it’s certainly noteworthy to see Drake Maye getting snaps from Andrews here. While it’s common for teams to automatically decide that they want to “sit” their rookie QBs, Maye should get every opportunity to win the New England Patriots’ QB1 job.

In his final season at North Carolina, Maye completed 63.3 percent of his pass attempts for 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns against nine interceptions to go along with 449 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.

New England Patriots Are Starting Fresh

For the first time since 1999, the New England Patriots will not have legendary head coach Bill Belichick on the sidelines. The two sides parted ways after a disappointing 4-13 season that marked the Pats’ worst record since 1992.

Following Belichick’s departure, Jerod Mayo was promoted to the head coaching job. Eliot Wolf has also taken over as the de facto GM, as Belichick had full personnel control during his tenure with the franchise.

The Belichick-Tom Brady era is long over. The Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since Super Bowl 53, and the Kansas City Chiefs have taken over as the league’s golden franchise. The times have changed abruptly in New England, and it’ll be interesting to see if Mayo and Maye are up for the challenge of restoring relevance to the franchise.