The New England Patriots opened their 2025 organized team activities (OTAs) on Monday, and one player whom the fanbase couldn't wait to hear about was quarterback Drake Maye.
Drafted third overall last year, Maye stole the Patriots' starting QB job from veteran counterpart Jacoby Brissett shortly after the 2024 campaign began. Once the season was over, the ex-North Carolina signal-caller finished with 2,276 passing yards and 15 touchdowns (to 10 interceptions) on 225 completions, as well as 421 rushing yards and two more TDs on 54 carries.
As solid as that Pro Bowl-quality campaign was, Maye still has a lot to prove as the Patriots' QB1 going forward. Unfortunately, his first OTA performance wasn't what fans hoped to see.
Patriots QB Drake Maye Has Poor at 1st OTAs Practice
Most reports following Tuesday's OTAs seem to indicate one thing: Maye didn't have a good performance on Tuesday.
According to the Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan, it was a largely shaky day for New England's No. 1 quarterback. Maye finished the day by only going 11-of-17 on passing attempts, throwing out a whopping four interceptions while being sacked "at least" two times by cornerback Marcus Jones and pass rusher Keion White.
Callahan added that Maye's four interceptions occurred within a six-play span. Returning second-team All-Pro CB Christian Gonzalez came away with two of those picks, while 2024 undrafted safety Dell Pettus and 2025 fourth-round defensive back Craig Woodson split the other pair.
Although Maye did close out the session by going 7-of-8 under center, it was likely too little, too late to salvage the day by then. His four INTs were burned into the Patriots fanbase's mind at that point, leaving the 22-year-old QB looking for a fresh start when the action resumes on Thursday.
As disappointing as Mayes' pick-filled performance was, an underwhelming OTAs outing isn't the end of the world. It was only last summer when the Boston Globe's Ben Volin reported that Joe Milton was outplaying Maye throughout practice, only for the former to be traded away this offseason while the latter is New England's QB1 going forward.
Hopefully, Maye bounces back with a strong performance on Thursday and throughout OTAs to put any doubts to rest. It's important to remember that athletes are human and need some time to shake the rust off, too, meaning the Patriots signal-caller might start looking like his old self once he gets into the swing of things.