Drake Maye still talks to Jacoby Brissett every week. Not out of nostalgia. Not because the two are best friends. Because Brissett was his mentor during the 2024 rookie season, and Maye understands that relationship has real value.
This matters more than it might seem. Young quarterbacks benefit from sustained guidance, especially from someone who's been in the league long enough to navigate adversity without panic. Brissett has started games across multiple teams, managed pressure, and understood his role as a backup — the exact kind of veteran perspective that helps a developing starter stay grounded when things get messy.
Mike Vrabel's Patriots system demands intelligence and poise from the QB position. Continuing to lean on Brissett's experience, even in an informal weekly conversation, suggests Maye is serious about his own development. He's not trying to learn everything from coaches alone. He's seeking perspective from someone who lived it.
The fact this is public now also signals something healthy about the organization's culture under Vrabel and Eliot Wolf. There's no secrecy around a QB staying connected with his mentor. It's normalized, encouraged even. That's the kind of environment where young talent actually grows.
We're now two seasons into the Maye era. The real measure of his progress won't just be what he does on Sunday, but how seriously he's taking the mental development that happens between them. Weekly calls with a mentor suggest he is.